Living Trusts, Wills & Estate Planning for Seniors Review: A 3-in-1 DIY Reference

Three documents in one guide

Most seniors need three estate-planning documents: a will, a revocable living trust, and powers of attorney (financial + healthcare). Garrett Monroe's 3-in-1 consolidates all three into one reference — appropriate for simple estates, not a replacement for attorney work on complex situations.

What's covered

Wills

• Simple will structure (executor, beneficiaries, specific bequests)
• Witnessing and notarization requirements (state-dependent)
• Pour-over wills that coordinate with a trust

Revocable living trusts

• When a trust makes sense (probate avoidance, privacy, multi-state property)
• Funding the trust — the step most DIY estates get wrong
• Successor trustees and spending provisions

Power of attorney / healthcare directives

• Durable financial POA scope
• Healthcare proxy / living will distinction
• HIPAA releases

What the book does well

• Bundled coverage. Most competing titles are single-topic; this covers the whole starter estate plan.
• Senior-specific. Addresses Medicare interaction with asset transfers, Medicaid 5-year look-back, RMDs and beneficiary designations.
• Bonus forms. Sample will and trust templates included — useful as starting point, not final document.

Where it falls short vs. dedicated Nolo titles

• Less detailed on trust administration. Nolo's Make Your Living Trust goes deeper on funding and administration.
• No state-by-state tables. Estate and inheritance tax thresholds vary by state; you'll need supplementary research.
• Thin on blended families. Second marriages, step-children, and disinheritance are addressed briefly.
• Medicaid planning is surface-level. If asset protection is the primary concern, consult an elder-law attorney.

When DIY is appropriate

Monroe is honest about limits. DIY works for:

• Simple estates under state exemption thresholds
• Single families with clear beneficiary relationships
• Households with straightforward asset types (no business interests, no out-of-state real estate)

DIY is not appropriate for:

• Blended families with potential contest risk
• Business ownership (S-corp shares, LLC interests, partnership buy-sell agreements)
• Special-needs children (special-needs trusts are a separate discipline)
• Estates above the federal estate-tax threshold
• Multi-state real estate

The verdict

A solid starter for simple senior estates under $1M. Use the forms as templates, review with a local attorney for final execution. Pair with appropriate life-insurance decisions (especially policy ownership if estate tax is a concern).