Upon your death, required legal processes force a reconciliation of your assets and liabilities. These processes are generally required to clear title to your assets, satisfy any creditor claims, and to assess whether any federal or state death taxes are due. Failure to undergo these processes will generally leave your assets unmarketable, subject to automatic government liens, and may cause members of your family to become responsible for any actual taxes or claims and any penalties and interest associated with a failure to satisfy these liabilities. These problems can and often do occur in the state of your primary residence (your "domicile") and also in any state where you own real property or from which you receive income.

Creating an optimum estate plan involves an organizational process using various legal documents, which are intended to avoid many of the time consuming probate processes otherwise required at death. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, an estate plan should involve foresight and flexibility in order to create "post mortem" (after death) planning opportunities that are often wasted.