Estate and Will Planning: What questions should I ask?

You should consult a lawyer in the state where you own property. The laws vary greatly. For example, in Pennsylvania, there are no land trusts or transfer on death deeds as there are in Illinois. All real estate goes through probate. And there are significant inheritance taxes.

I don't know if someone already said this, but do as much as you can yourself, while you are able. If you try to give someone a financial power of attorney, they will have nothing but a hard time (in my experience). In order to protect people from fraud, they really give people a bad time when they try to use the financial power of attorney. I have spent hours, sitting in offices, for my mom, trying to do the things she wanted. I would think I have accomplished the goal and then, a couple of weeks later, I would get a letter in the mail saying that none of the stuff was done because they want the owner to appear in person and not the power of attorney.

If you want to leave any specific thing to any specific person, I also suggest you just give it to them now while you can. It can eliminate a lot of stress for your executor.