Yes — and not just if you're wealthy or elderly. Estate planning is for anyone who has people they care about, assets they've worked for, or wishes they want honored.

Without a plan, you have no say in who makes decisions for you if you become incapacitated, who raises your children, who inherits what you've built, or how any of it happens. The court steps in and decides — based on the law, not on what you would have wanted.

The short version: if there is anyone or anything in your life that matters to you, you need a plan.

Both a will and a revocable living trust direct where your assets go after you die — but they work very differently.

A will goes through probate, which is a public court process that can take months or years and may consume a meaningful portion of your estate in fees and delays. Anyone can look up a will after you're gone.

A trust avoids probate entirely. It transfers your assets privately and efficiently to your beneficiaries, without court involvement and without the public record. A trust also covers incapacity — if you become unable to manage your affairs, your successor trustee can step in immediately, without going to court.

For most families, a trust-based plan provides significantly better protection than a will alone. We'll help you determine which approach is right for your situation.

A complete plan typically includes most or all of the following, depending on your situation:

• Revocable Living Trust — holds and distributes your assets without probate
• Last Will & Testament or Pour-Over Will— catches and directs any assets not held in trust
• Financial Power of Attorney — authorizes someone to manage your finances if you're incapacitated
• Healthcare Power of Attorney — names someone to make medical decisions on your behalf
• Living Will / Advance Directive — documents your end-of-life care wishes
• HIPAA Authorization — allows your loved ones to receive your medical information
• Kids Guardianship Plan — names and instructs guardians for your minor children (if applicable)
• Pet Trust provisions — provides for your pets' care (if applicable)

Not every plan includes every document. We design yours based on what your family actually needs.

Virginia's (or your state's) intestacy laws determine who inherits your assets — which may not match your wishes. The court appoints an administrator for your estate and, if you have minor children, decides who raises them. Your assets go through probate, which is public, time-consuming, and expensive.

If you're unmarried, your partner has no automatic rights to your assets or your home, regardless of how long you've been together. If you have children from a prior relationship, they may be cut out entirely or receive assets in ways you'd never have chosen.

Dying without a plan doesn't mean no decisions get made — it means someone else makes them.

Then your most important next step is making sure it still works. Estate plans become outdated — sometimes dangerously so — when:

• You've had a major life change: marriage, divorce, new children or grandchildren, death of a named beneficiary or executor
• Your assets have changed significantly
• Your plan is more than three years old
• You've moved to a different state
• Tax laws have changed in ways that affect your plan

We offer Estate Plan Reviews for clients who already have a plan and want to know whether it still does what they think it does. In many cases, the answer is that it doesn't — and a few targeted updates make all the difference.

Your estate plan generally remains valid after a move, but it may have gaps or miss opportunities specific to your new state's laws. We always recommend having an attorney in your new state review your documents after a move to make sure everything is still airtight.

If you're moving within Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., or our service area, we're happy to help. If you're moving further afield, we can help you find a qualified estate planning attorney wherever you're headed.

Our plans are priced on a flat-fee basis — always. You'll know exactly what you're paying before we begin, with no hourly billing and no surprise invoices.

Plans generally range from $3,000 to $8,000 or more, depending on the complexity of your situation and the level of planning that's right for your family. We offer three planning levels, and during your Guided Planning Session we'll walk through each option together so you can choose the one that fits your goals and your budget.

We can't quote a specific fee over the phone or online, because the right plan depends on understanding your situation first. But there will never be a cost surprise.

The Guided Planning Session is a two-hour meeting where we build your estate plan together. In the first hour, Bryn walks you through everything you own, everyone you love, and what would happen to all of it if something happened to you. You'll discuss what matters most, what worries you, and what would give you the greatest peace of mind.

If you decide to move forward, the second hour is spent designing your plan. You'll leave with a clear picture of what your plan will look like — and your Signing Meeting already on the calendar.

The session fee is $850, but we reduce the fee to $100 if you submit the pre-session questionnaire at least 48 hours in advance. The session fee is credited toward your plan if you move forward, so nothing is wasted.

Most plans are completed within about two months from your Guided Planning Session to the delivery of your signed documents. The process has four phases:

• The Guided Planning Session — where we design your plan together (approximately two hours)
• Document preparation — we draft your complete plan based on your decisions (typically two to four weeks)
• The Signing Meeting — you review and sign your documents (approximately one hour)
• The Funding Phase — we guide you through transferring assets into your trust (ongoing over several weeks)

Every step is planned out in advance so you always know what's next.

Signing is not the finish line — it's the beginning of making your plan real. After your Signing Meeting, we enter the Funding Phase, where we guide you through transferring your assets into your trust and updating your beneficiary designations.

We give you clear, step-by-step guidance on exactly what to do at each bank and financial institution — which accounts to retitle, which beneficiaries to update, and what to say when you get there. You do the legwork; we make sure you never have to guess.

A signed trust that doesn't hold your assets doesn't protect your family. We don't consider your plan complete until funding is done.

Yes — and this is one of the things that most distinguishes Juniper Law from a traditional estate planning attorney.

At no additional charge, we meet with you at least every three years to review your plan. We check for changes in the law, shifts in your family situation, and new assets or circumstances that need to be addressed. Your plan evolves with your life.

We also stay available for questions between reviews. When something changes — a new child, a death in the family, a major asset purchase — you have somewhere to turn.

We offer flexible meeting options designed around your schedule and preferences. We can meet in person, virtually, or — for clients who prefer it — at your home. Juniper Law serves all of Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., and we've designed our process to be as convenient as possible for busy families.

A will can name a long-term guardian for your children — but it has significant limitations that a dedicated Kids Guardianship Plan addresses:

• A will only takes effect after you die and after it's accepted by the probate court. Your children need protection immediately — including in emergencies that don't result in your death.
• A will doesn't name a short-term emergency guardian for situations where you're incapacitated, hospitalized, or unreachable.
• A will doesn't give babysitters, first responders, schools, or hospitals the information and documentation they need to act quickly on your children's behalf.
• A will doesn't document your parenting values, your instructions, or the details that help a guardian actually raise your children the way you'd want.

A Kids Guardianship Plan covers all of these gaps — with legal documents, caregiver instructions, a wallet ID card, and personal letters that give your children's caretakers everything they need from the first moment to the long term.

This is one of the most important questions in guardianship planning, and one most attorneys never address directly.

If the other biological parent is living, they generally have a legal right to custody of your children upon your death — regardless of what your will says. However, there are legal steps you can take to document your concerns and, in some circumstances, limit or contest that outcome.

If your concern is about someone other than the other parent — a relative, a family friend, anyone you'd want legally excluded — we can prepare a Confidential Guardian Exclusion that legally documents who you do not want caring for your children and why. This is a powerful document that most estate planning attorneys never prepare, and it can make a significant difference in a contested custody situation.

This is a conversation worth having in detail. Please bring it up during your planning session.

Guardianship planning is specifically for minor children — once your children are adults, it no longer applies to them.

However, if your adult children are heading off to college or moving out on their own, there's something important to know: the moment they turn 18, you lose the automatic legal right to make medical decisions for them or access their health records. Every 18-year-old needs a Healthcare Power of Attorney, a HIPAA Authorization, a Living Will, and a Financial Power of Attorney. These are quick and relatively inexpensive to prepare — and most families never think to do it until there's an emergency.

These two documents work together but serve different purposes:

• A Healthcare Power of Attorney names the person who will make medical decisions on your behalf when you cannot make them yourself. This is your healthcare agent — the person who speaks for you.
• A Living Will documents your specific wishes for medical treatment in defined end-of-life scenarios. It tells your healthcare agent — and your medical team — what you would want, so they're not left to guess.

You need both. The Healthcare Power of Attorney says who decides. The Living Will says what you'd want them to decide. Together, they give your family both the authority and the guidance they need in a medical crisis.

Federal privacy law (HIPAA) prohibits your doctors and hospitals from sharing your health information with anyone — including your spouse or your adult children — without your written authorization. In a medical emergency, this can leave even your closest loved ones completely in the dark.

A HIPAA Authorization designates the specific people who are allowed to receive your medical information and communicate with your providers. It's a simple document that removes a significant obstacle when your family needs to be involved in your care.

Without a Financial Power of Attorney in place, no one — not even your spouse — has automatic authority to manage your financial accounts, pay your bills, file your taxes, or handle your financial obligations on your behalf.

The alternative is a court-supervised conservatorship proceeding, which is expensive, time-consuming, and entirely avoidable. A Durable Financial Power of Attorney names the person you trust to step in immediately, without any court involvement.

You can — but a will alone leaves meaningful gaps. Wills go through probate, which can take months, and your pet needs care immediately. There's also no legal mechanism to enforce how the person you named cares for your pet or spends any money you leave for them.

A pet trust is the more robust solution. It holds funds specifically for your pet's care, designates a caregiver and a trustee to oversee the funds, and includes detailed care instructions — all enforceable under Virginia law. It also covers incapacity, so your pets are protected even if you become unable to care for them while you're still alive.

It depends on your pet's age, species, health, and expected needs. A helpful starting point is to estimate your annual pet care costs — food, veterinary care, grooming, medications — and multiply by your pet's expected remaining lifespan plus two years, adding a generous buffer for unexpected medical expenses.

For animals with unusually long lifespans, like horses or parrots, the calculation becomes especially important. We'll help you think through the right amount during your planning session, and you can also specify what happens to any remaining funds after your pet's death.