Estate planning checklist for new dentists

This page is general education, not legal advice. Estate law is state law, so the rules where you live decide the details.

Estate planning sounds like something for retirees. It’s really for anyone with a spouse, kids, a cosigned loan, or a practice. Your first job is a good time to start, because the documents are cheap now and easy to update later.

The checklist

Document	What it does	Who needs it
Will	Says who gets what and who manages it; can address care of children	Almost everyone; essential with kids
Beneficiary designations	Send retirement accounts and life insurance straight to the people you name	Anyone with a 401(k), IRA or policy
Durable power of attorney for finances	Names someone to handle money if you can’t	Everyone, especially owners
Living will	Tells doctors what care you want if you can’t speak for yourself	Everyone
Durable power of attorney for health care	Names your health care proxy	Everyone
Buy-sell agreement	Sets who buys an owner’s share, and how	Owners with a partner
Patient records plan	Says who takes custody of charts	Practice owners

Will and guardianship

A will says how your property, money and other assets are distributed and managed when you die, per the National Institute on Aging. It can also address care for children under 18, adult dependents and pets.

With no will, your estate is distributed under your state’s laws. That may not match what you’d choose, especially for unmarried partners or stepchildren.

If you have kids, the will is where you address who would raise them. Talk to that person before you name them.

A living trust is the other common tool. The NIA describes it as naming a trustee to hold and distribute property for you. Trusts cost more to set up. At Trust & Will, for example, the trust plan starts at $499 and the will plan at $199. Many new dentists don’t need one yet.

Beneficiary designations: the step people skip

Your 401(k), IRA, life insurance and any transfer-on-death brokerage account pass by beneficiary form, not by your will. FINRA says a TOD or other beneficiary document “supersedes your will.”

That catches people. A 401(k) from your first job may still name a parent, even after you marry.

Check every account once a year and after any marriage, divorce or birth:

• Retirement accounts: workplace 401(k), solo 401(k), IRAs.
• Life insurance: term policies and any group coverage through work or an association.
• Brokerage and bank accounts: add TOD or POD designations where offered. FINRA says a TOD generally lets that account avoid probate.

Ask each firm who it has on record, and make it match your plan.

Powers of attorney and a health care directive

Durable power of attorney for finances. It names someone to make financial decisions when you can’t, per the NIA. For an owner, that person may need to sign checks, run payroll and talk to the practice lender.

Living will. It tells doctors which treatments you’d want or refuse if you can’t decide.

Durable power of attorney for health care. It names your health care proxy, the person who decides if you can’t. The two documents do different jobs, so you usually want both.

You don’t necessarily need a lawyer for advance directives, the NIA says. Many states have their own forms you can complete for free. Give copies to your proxy and your doctor.

What happens to your student loans at death

Federal loans. The CFPB says federal student loans “won’t transfer to another person.” Relatives notify the servicer, and the loans are canceled.

Private and refinanced loans. Private lenders “are not legally required to cancel” loans when a borrower dies, per the CFPB. In some cases the debt can pass to a spouse or cosigner. Your promissory note decides. One federal protection: for private student loans made on or after Nov. 20, 2018, the lender must release a cosigner when the student borrower dies (15 U.S.C. 1650(g)). Older loans, and refinanced loans that aren’t education loans under that law, may not have it.

That’s the estate-planning case against casual refinancing. Refinancing turns federal loans into private ones and ends access to RAP, PSLF, federal forgiveness, and federal forbearance and deferment for those loans. It also swaps the federal death discharge for your lender’s contract terms.

If a parent cosigned, or your spouse could inherit the debt, term life insurance sized to that balance is the usual fix. See term life insurance for dentists.

Example. A dentist owes $280,000 in federal loans and $60,000 on a parent-cosigned private loan. At death, the $280,000 is canceled. The $60,000 depends on the private contract and when the loan was made. If it’s a post-2018 private student loan, the parent is released, but your estate or spouse may still owe it, so it’s still the number to insure.

For practice owners: buy-sell agreement and patient records

Owning a practice turns your estate into a business problem. Your family may inherit the equity and the obligations, but they can’t treat your patients.

Buy-sell agreement. If you have a partner, this contract sets who can buy a deceased or disabled owner’s share and how the price is set. Have an attorney draft it with your practice entity documents, and ask how the purchase would be funded.

Solo owners need a plan too. Who covers the schedule for a few weeks? Who helps your family sell before the patient base scatters? Put names and a letter of instruction in writing.

Patient records. Someone has to take legal custody of charts and radiographs. The ADA says how long to keep records varies by state and federal law. It points owners to their attorney, state dental board or state dental association for the rules.

Your plan should name a custodian, say where records live (including the cloud login), and follow your state board’s requirements. See setting up your dental practice entity for how the entity fits in.

Online service or estate attorney?

Prices as of Sept. 26, 2026, from each company’s site:

• Trust & Will: Will plan from $199, Trust plan from $499, plus a $49-a-year membership. It says it is “not a law firm.”
• LegalZoom: Basic will $129, Pro will $149 (adds a health care directive, powers of attorney and 30 days of attorney consultations), Premium $299. It says it is “not a law firm,” except through its subsidiary law firm.

An online service is usually enough if: you’re single or married without complex assets, have no business interest, and your wishes are simple. Both Trust & Will and LegalZoom produce state-specific documents. You still have to sign them properly, often before a notary or witnesses.

Pay an estate attorney if:

• You own or are buying a practice, or have a partner.
• You have a blended family, a special-needs dependent, or want to leave money to minors with conditions.
• Your assets and insurance together are large enough that taxes or probate costs matter.
• You live in more than one state or own property in several.

An attorney usually costs more up front. For an owner, a badly drafted buy-sell or no records plan costs far more.

What to do next

1. Update beneficiary forms today on every retirement account and policy.
2. List your accounts, loans and insurance in one document, and tell someone where it is.
3. Sign a financial power of attorney and advance directives. Your state’s free forms are a fine start.
4. Write a will, online or with an attorney, and name a guardian if you have kids.
5. Check your private loan contracts for death and cosigner terms, and insure the gap.
6. Owners: add a buy-sell agreement and a records plan with your attorney.