Estate Planning Is More Than a Will: What Every Kansas City Family Needs to Know

Most people think estate planning means signing a will and calling it a day. The reality is much more comprehensive — and much more important — than that.

At Schowengerdt Law, we cover estate planning from the ground up: foundational documents every family needs, advanced strategies for those with larger estates, and everything in between. Here’s a breakdown of what you actually need to know.

Start With the Foundation

Estate planning begins with a core set of documents. Most people focus on wills and trusts, but those are actually just one piece of the puzzle. The documents that protect you while you’re still alive — your incapacity planning — are arguably just as important.

Here’s what a complete estate plan looks like:

• Revocable living trust or will
• Financial power of attorney
• Healthcare power of attorney
• HIPAA authorization
• Living will / advance directive

Why You Need an Estate Plan (Even If You’re Not Wealthy)

One of the biggest misconceptions we hear is: “I don’t have enough to need an estate plan.” That couldn’t be more wrong.

If you have minor children, an estate plan is the only legal way to designate who raises them if something happens to you. Without one, a judge decides — and that can lead to painful, expensive custody battles between well-meaning family members.

Daniel has a real case that illustrates this perfectly. A mother and father passed away in a car accident, leaving behind their 10-year-old son. Because they had no estate plan, the boy spent the next 16 months in a custody battle between his aunt and uncle — each of whom believed they were honoring the parents’ wishes. Both sides spent over $100,000. The family was destroyed. And the boy had to testify in open court about which relative he wanted to live with.

It was entirely avoidable.

If you have a house, bank account, or insurance policy, your family will likely end up in probate court without an estate plan. Probate is a public, court-supervised process that typically takes 6 to 18 months and costs 2–4% of your estate. On a $1 million estate, that’s $20,000–$40,000. A complete estate plan typically costs a fraction of that.

Will vs. Trust: What’s the Difference?

This is one of the most misunderstood topics in estate planning.

A will is a set of instructions to a judge. It tells the court what you want done with your assets — but it doesn’t keep your family out of court. A will always goes through probate. It’s a little easier for you now, but a lot harder for your family later.

A trust keeps your family out of court entirely. Assets pass directly through a trusted person you choose — privately, quickly, and typically without fees. A trust is a little more work now (you have to transfer your assets into it), but a lot easier for your family later.

One important note: most trusts in the U.S. aren’t properly funded. Attorneys are good at drafting trusts but historically bad at helping clients actually move their assets into them. Make sure your house, financial accounts, and titled property are transferred into the trust — otherwise it won’t work when your family needs it most.

Trusts also offer protections wills can’t:

• Privacy — trusts are not part of the public record
• Creditor protection — assets held in trust are protected from lawsuits against your beneficiaries
• Divorce protection — undistributed trust assets can’t be split in a divorce
• Incapacity protection — if you become incapacitated, your trustee can step in and manage your affairs or run your business without going to court

What Age Should Your Kids Inherit?

If you have no estate plan, your minor children inherit at 18. Most parents we work with don’t want that — and for good reason. An 18-year-old with a sudden influx of cash is likely to make decisions they’ll regret. (The most common one? A red sports car.)

Here are the options:

Lifetime trust shares — the strongest protection. Assets stay in trust for your child’s entire life, shielding them from creditors and divorce throughout.

The “gold standard” — the most popular choice. A staged distribution, typically one-third at age 30, one-third at 35, and one-third at 40. This provides for your children’s needs while protecting a portion of the inheritance at each stage.

The beauty of estate planning is that every family is different. Your plan should reflect your values and your family’s needs — not a one-size-fits-all template.

Don’t Forget Incapacity Planning — It’s For You

Wills and trusts are for your family after you’re gone. Incapacity planning is for you while you’re still here.

If you became unable to manage your finances or make healthcare decisions tomorrow — whether from an accident, illness, or cognitive decline — who would step in? Without the right documents in place, your family would have to go to court to get that authority. It’s called a guardianship and conservatorship, and it’s expensive, public, and emotionally difficult.

The solution is straightforward — but it has to be done before you need it:

Financial power of attorney — authorizes someone to manage your finances, pay bills, sign documents, and act on your behalf.

Healthcare power of attorney — authorizes someone to make medical decisions for you, consent to surgeries, and communicate with your doctors.

HIPAA authorization — allows designated people to receive your health information. (Especially important for parents of adult children — once your child turns 18, you have no legal right to their medical information without this.)

Living will / advance directive — tells doctors and your family what you want for end-of-life care. It’s one of the most meaningful gifts you can give your family — taking the weight of that decision off their shoulders entirely.

For High-Net-Worth Individuals: Advanced Planning

Once the foundation is in place, there are additional strategies for those with larger estates or specific tax concerns.

The current estate and gift tax exemption sits at $15 million per person ($30 million for married couples) — meaning anything above that is taxed at 40% upon your death. That number has changed many times over the decades and could change again. Planning now, while the exemption is high, is critical.

Three common advanced strategies:

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) — Life insurance held inside this trust is excluded from your taxable estate entirely. Even a $100 million policy won’t count against your exemption if it’s properly structured inside an ILIT.

Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) — Allows you to remove assets from your estate while still maintaining indirect access through your spouse. These require careful drafting — identical SLATs signed on the same day have been thrown out by the IRS entirely.

Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT) — A strategy where you pay the income tax on trust assets yourself, effectively allowing the trust to grow tax-free while reducing your taxable estate over time. Particularly useful for business owners — selling a business to an IDGT can yield a 30% discount on the asset’s value for estate tax purposes.

For charitably minded families, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and donor-advised funds (DAFs) offer powerful ways to give while reducing your estate tax burden.

The Bottom Line

Estate planning isn’t just about what happens when you die. It’s about protecting your children, protecting yourself, and making sure everything you’ve worked for goes where you intend — without your family going through court to get it.

The foundational plan — trust or will, powers of attorney, HIPAA authorization, and advance directive — is where everyone starts. From there, the plan grows to fit your family’s needs.

If you live in Kansas or Missouri and want to make sure your family is protected, we’d love to help. Schedule a complimentary consultation at djslaw.us or call us at 913-744-0900.