Legal Readiness Quiz
A free 5-minute check on the four documents that decide what happens if you can't speak for yourself. Score your readiness, see exactly where the gaps are, and get a step-by-step plan — including how to talk to your family about it.
The Legal Readiness Quiz evaluates four key estate-planning and healthcare documents: Medical Power of Attorney, Advance Healthcare Directive (Living Will), Financial Power of Attorney, and Last Will and Testament. It also reviews whether your documents have been updated in the last 5 years and whether your named agent knows where to find them. Results include a 0–100 readiness score, personalized why-it-matters guidance for each document, cost estimates for closing gaps, conversation scripts for family discussions, and a recommendation for online estate planning through Gentreo. This tool provides general educational information only and is not legal advice; consult a licensed elder-law attorney to review your specific situation.
The four documents that decide what happens if you can't speak for yourself — scored, with the gaps to fix first.
Medical POA
Names the person allowed to talk to doctors and direct treatment if you can't.
Advance Directive
Spells out preferences for life support, resuscitation, and end-of-life care.
Financial POA
Authorizes a trusted person to handle banking, insurance, and benefits.
Last Will & Testament
Directs how property, accounts, and personal items are distributed.
Module 4 — Legal Readiness · Question 1 of 6
Do you have a Medical Power of Attorney?
Names someone to make healthcare decisions if you cannot speak for yourself.
Educational only — not legal advice. State requirements vary.
Legal readiness, explained
Clear answers to the questions families ask most about Powers of Attorney, wills, advance directives, guardianship, conservatorship, and POLST forms. Tap any question to expand — or jump straight to the full guide.
A Medical Power of Attorney (also called a healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney) is a legal document that names someone you trust to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to speak for yourself. Without one, hospitals follow state default rules — and your spouse, partner, or adult children may have no legal authority to direct your care, even in a routine surgery complication. Every adult over 18 needs one because incapacity can happen at any age from accidents, sudden illness, or surgery.
Read the full Medical POA guideAn Advance Healthcare Directive is a written statement of your wishes for end-of-life and serious-illness medical care — including preferences about life support, resuscitation, ventilation, artificial nutrition, and pain management. It becomes your documented voice when you cannot speak for yourself. Most states provide free standard forms, and many people complete one during hospital admission and forget about it. Pair this with a Medical Power of Attorney so a person you trust can interpret your wishes in real time.
Read the full Advance Directive guideThe terms are often used interchangeably, but technically a Living Will is one part of a broader Advance Healthcare Directive. A Living Will documents your specific treatment preferences (CPR, ventilation, feeding tubes, comfort care). An Advance Directive may also include the appointment of a healthcare agent (like a Medical Power of Attorney), HIPAA release authority, and organ donation preferences. Some states combine them into a single form; others use separate documents. What matters is that both your wishes and your decision-maker are clearly named.
Compare Living Will and Advance DirectiveA Financial Power of Attorney is a legal document authorizing someone you trust to manage your finances — paying bills, accessing bank accounts, filing taxes, and managing investments — if you become incapacitated. A 'Durable' Financial POA stays valid through incapacity (which is the version most families need). It can take effect immediately or only after a doctor certifies incapacity ('springing'). Without one, your family must petition a court to appoint a conservator, a process that can take 60–90 days and cost $3,000–$15,000.
Read the full Financial POA guideYes. A Last Will and Testament does much more than divide assets — it names a guardian for minor children, designates an executor, and prevents your state's intestate succession rules from deciding who inherits what. Without a will, state law follows a fixed formula that may not match your wishes (for example, splitting assets between a surviving spouse and adult children when you intended everything for your spouse). Even a simple will, completed in under an hour through a reputable online platform, is far better than no will at all.
Read the full Last Will & Testament guideGuardianship is a court-ordered legal arrangement where a judge appoints someone to make personal and medical decisions for an adult who is no longer able to do so. Unlike a Power of Attorney — which you set up voluntarily while you have capacity — guardianship happens after the fact, requires court hearings, ongoing reporting, and typically costs $3,000–$10,000 in legal fees. A current Medical Power of Attorney is the single most effective way to prevent your family from ever needing to file for guardianship.
Read the full Guardianship guideConservatorship is a court-appointed authority over a person's finances and property — paying bills, managing accounts, and protecting assets — when they can no longer manage them safely. Guardianship typically covers personal and medical decisions; conservatorship covers financial decisions. Some states combine the two roles under a single term, while others (like California) use 'conservator' for both. A Durable Financial Power of Attorney prevents the need for conservatorship in most cases, saving your family thousands of dollars and months of court proceedings.
Read the full Conservatorship guideA POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a medical order signed by both you and your doctor that translates your end-of-life wishes into specific, actionable instructions for emergency responders and hospital staff. Unlike an Advance Directive — which is a legal document — a POLST is a portable medical order honored across care settings. POLSTs are designed for people with serious illness or advanced frailty, typically those whose doctor would not be surprised if they died in the next year. POLST is not a replacement for a Living Will or Medical POA — it complements them.
Read the full POLST guideReview your legal documents at least every 5 years, and immediately after any major life event — marriage, divorce, the death of a named agent or beneficiary, the birth of a child or grandchild, a significant change in assets, or a move to a new state. Banks and hospitals routinely scrutinize Powers of Attorney over 5 years old, and some institutions reject documents outright. Even if your wishes haven't changed, re-signing a fresh document removes any ambiguity at the moment your family needs the document most.
Read the legal & financial planning guideMost states require Powers of Attorney to be either notarized, witnessed by two adults, or both — and some require all three. Requirements vary significantly by state and by document type (Medical POA versus Financial POA), and a document that is valid in one state may be questioned in another. Banks in particular often demand notarization for Financial POAs and may require their own internal forms. Always check your state's specific requirements, and use a reputable online platform or attorney that builds in the correct execution steps for your state.
Read state-by-state POA requirementsWithout a Medical Power of Attorney and Financial Power of Attorney, your family must petition a probate court to appoint a guardian (for medical and personal decisions) and a conservator (for financial decisions) before they can act on your behalf. This process typically takes 60–90 days, costs $3,000–$15,000 in legal fees, requires recurring court reports, and exposes your private medical and financial information through public court records. Meanwhile, bills go unpaid, treatment decisions stall, and family conflict often surfaces under enormous stress.
Read POA vs. Guardianship guideFrame the conversation as proactive planning, not crisis management — and lead with what's already in place rather than what's missing. A good opener is: 'I've been working on something I want to share with you so you're never caught off guard.' Ask the person you want to name as your agent before you put their name on a document; a reluctant agent is worse than no agent. Tell them where the documents are stored, give them digital copies, and re-confirm every few years. The Family Conversation Guide includes scripts for each scenario.
Read the Family Conversation GuideA Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust that holds assets — most commonly the family home — so they are no longer counted as yours for Medicaid eligibility once the five-year lookback period has passed. Families typically use a MAPT when they want to preserve a home for the next generation, protect assets from Medicaid estate recovery, and plan well in advance of any anticipated long-term care need. Because the trust is irrevocable and the lookback is five years, this strategy only works when set up years before care is needed — not in a crisis.
Read the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust guideA revocable living trust is a legal arrangement where you transfer ownership of assets into a trust you control during your lifetime, with a successor trustee who takes over if you become incapacitated or die. Trust assets avoid probate, transfer privately to beneficiaries, and provide seamless incapacity planning. However, it does not reduce estate taxes, protect assets from Medicaid or creditors, or replace a will or Power of Attorney. It makes the most sense for people with multi-state real estate, blended families, complex estates, or strong privacy concerns. Many families with modest assets achieve similar goals with a well-drafted will plus beneficiary designations.
Read the Revocable Living Trust guideA Special Needs Trust (SNT) is a trust designed to hold assets for a person with a disability without disqualifying them from means-tested government benefits like Medicaid and SSI. Families need one whenever an inheritance, gift, life insurance payout, or settlement might otherwise reach a loved one with a disability directly — because direct receipt can push them over benefit eligibility limits and interrupt healthcare and support they depend on. Third-party SNTs created and funded by family members are the most common type and have no Medicaid payback at the beneficiary's death.
Read the Special Needs Trust guideA funeral trust is an arrangement — typically an irrevocable trust — that sets aside funds specifically to pay for your funeral and burial expenses. Properly structured irrevocable funeral trusts are generally exempt from Medicaid countable assets in most states and are typically exempt from the five-year lookback period, making them one of the few last-minute Medicaid planning tools available. They also spare your family the financial burden and decision-making of funeral planning during grief. State limits on funded amounts vary, so confirm with an elder-law attorney.
Read the Funeral Trust guideA Pet Power of Attorney authorizes a designated agent to make care decisions for your pet — including authorizing emergency veterinary treatment — if you're hospitalized or incapacitated. A Pet Care Trust is a legally enforceable trust that holds funds and binding instructions for your pet's ongoing care after your death. Pets cannot legally inherit property, so a bequest 'to' your pet in a will has no effect — a trust is the mechanism that actually works. All 50 states now recognize Pet Care Trusts. Together, these tools cover emergency, incapacity, and end-of-life scenarios for your animals.
Read the Pet POA & Pet Care Trust guideThese answers provide general educational information only and are not legal advice. Document requirements vary by state. Consult a licensed elder-law attorney to review your specific situation.