Estate planning for business owners
What happens to my business when I die?
You decide, if you write it down. A will or a living trust says who receives your business and who can run it; without one, your state’s inheritance rules and a probate court decide, and the business can sit frozen while they do. If you have partners, your operating or buy-sell agreement also decides whether your family keeps your share or is paid for it, and life insurance is what pays them.
Wills from $695 and living trusts from $1,495, made online from attorney-approved forms, and the life insurance that pays into them. Most owners with straightforward situations can do it without hiring a lawyer first; the Plan Check tells you when you should.
Decide where your business goes.
- Will packageA last will and testament, prepared online from your answers.from $695
- Trust packageA revocable living trust with a certification of trust and a pour-over will, prepared online from your answers.from $1,495
Starting prices, per person. Couples can set up a joint trust for both of you, or two plans with $100 off the second.
- Free health care directive: Says who decides about your medical care if you cannot, and what you want.
- Free financial power of attorney: Names who can handle your money matters if you are alive but unable to act for yourself.
Boring Insurance Agency is a licensed insurance agency, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by using this service. These documents are self-help forms prepared from the information you provide. Laws vary by state, and your circumstances may require changes these forms do not make. We recommend you have an attorney licensed in your state review your documents before you sign them.
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Kevin Kelsey put his off too.
Kevin, our founder and principal agent, put off his own estate plan because he did not want to take the time to find a lawyer. Then he learned that most people with straightforward situations can start from attorney-approved forms online and have an attorney review the finished documents. So the agency now does both halves for owners: the plan that says where the business goes, and the life insurance that pays the people it names.
Kevin Kelsey, founder and principal agent, CA License #6011822
If you own it alone
Sole proprietor, single-member LLC, or an S corporation you own outright.
- A will or a trust decides who inherits it. A sole proprietorship, a single-member LLC or an S corporation you own outright passes to the people your plan names. With no plan, your state’s inheritance rules choose for you.When a single-member LLC owner dies
- A trust keeps it from freezing. Under a will, nobody has clear authority until a probate court appoints your executor. Your successor trustee can act for a business held in a living trust right away.Will or trust for a business owner
- Name who runs it, and leave them the keys. Inheriting a business and knowing how to run it are different. Name the person, and write down where the bank accounts, logins and key contracts are.When a sole proprietor dies
- Life insurance buys your family time. A death benefit paid to your trust replaces your income and pays the business debts, so nobody has to sell in a hurry. Key person coverage does the same for the business itself.How much life insurance an owner needs
If you have partners
Multi-member LLC, partnership, or shareholders, family included.
- Your plan decides who receives your share. Your will or trust names who gets your ownership interest, whether that is a spouse, your children or your trust.What happens to your share of an LLC
- Your agreement decides whether they keep it. An operating, partnership or shareholder agreement can stop an heir from becoming an owner and give the company or your partners the right, or the duty, to buy the share. We do not draft these; your attorney should check yours.Which document decides what
- Life insurance makes the buyout real. A promise to buy your share is only as good as the cash behind it. Insuring each owner for the value of their share means your family is paid and your partners keep the company.Funding a buy-sell with life insurance
- Your trust can hold the share and receive the money. A revocable living trust can own LLC interests and S corporation stock, and it can be the beneficiary of your own policy.Can a living trust own LLC or S corp shares?
Three parts, and we handle two of them.
1. The estate plan
A will or a revocable living trust that names who receives the business and who runs it, plus a health care directive and a financial power of attorney for while you are alive. We set these up online.
2. The money
Personal life insurance for your family or your trust, key person coverage for the business, and buy-sell funding so partners can buy your share. We are a licensed agency and place these.
3. The agreement check
If you have partners, your attorney checks that the operating or buy-sell agreement, your plan and the policies say the same thing. We do not draft agreements or give legal advice.
The Business Owner Plan Check
About ten short questions about the business, your household and what you already have. It says whether most owners in your position set up a will or a living trust, or should talk to an attorney first, and estimates personal, key person and buy-sell life insurance in ranges with the arithmetic shown. Nothing leaves the page unless you choose to send it.
What you get, and what it costs
| Document | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Will package | A last will and testament, prepared online from your answers. | from $695 |
| Trust package | A revocable living trust with a certification of trust and a pour-over will, prepared online from your answers. | from $1,495 |
| Health care directive | Says who decides about your medical care if you cannot, and what you want. | Free |
| Financial power of attorney | Names who can handle your money matters if you are alive but unable to act for yourself. | Free |
| Life insurance | Pays your family or your trust, funds a buy-sell, or covers a key person. Shopped across carriers. | Quoted on underwriting |
Document prices are starting prices per person. Couples can set up a joint trust for both of you, or two plans with $100 off the second.
Just want the will or trust question answered?
Our document platform’s own quiz asks about your family and what you own, then says whether most people like you choose a will, a trust, or should see an attorney. It does not size life insurance; the Plan Check does.
Questions owners ask us
- What happens to a single-member LLC when the owner dies?
- What happens to a sole proprietorship when the owner dies?
- What happens to my share of an LLC when I die, if I have partners?
- Can a living trust own my LLC interest or S corporation shares?
- Do I need a lawyer to make a living trust, and what does one cost?
- Can ChatGPT write my will or living trust, and is it legally valid?
- Should my living trust be the beneficiary of my life insurance?
- How do business partners fund a buy-sell agreement with life insurance, and how much do they need?
- How much key person insurance does a small business need?
- How much life insurance does a business owner need?
- Does a business owner need a will or a living trust?
- Do I need a will or a living trust if I own a home in California?
Common questions
- What happens to my business when I die?
- It goes where your will or living trust says, or where your state’s inheritance rules send it if you have neither. With partners, your operating or buy-sell agreement also decides whether your heirs keep your share or must sell it. A trust lets the person you chose act for the business right away; under a will, a probate court appoints them first.
- Do I need a lawyer to make a will or living trust?
- You are not required to hire one, and most people with straightforward situations can create a will or trust from attorney-approved forms. See an attorney if your estate could approach the federal estate tax exclusion ($15 million per person in 2026), a beneficiary has special needs, a blended family may dispute the plan, you own property abroad, or partners need a buy-sell agreement. We recommend an attorney review your documents before you sign.
- When to see an attorney
- How much does it cost?
- Our will package starts at $695 and our trust package at $1,495, per person. Couples can set up a joint trust for both of you, or two plans with $100 off the second. The trust package includes a certification of trust and a pour-over will. A health care directive and a financial power of attorney are free.
- Can my life insurance pay into my trust?
- Yes. You can name your living trust as the beneficiary, so the death benefit is handled under your trust’s instructions and stays out of probate. Life insurance death benefits are generally not taxable income to the beneficiary.
- Naming your trust as beneficiary
- Do you write buy-sell or operating agreements?
- No. Boring is a licensed insurance agency, not a law firm. We set up wills and living trusts through our document platform and place the life insurance that funds a buy-sell. Your attorney should draft or review the agreement and confirm it lines up with your plan and your policies.
- Can ChatGPT just write my will?
- It can draft the words. A will is valid only when it is signed and witnessed the way your state requires, and a trust only works once your assets are moved into it. Attorney-approved forms with signing instructions fix most of what goes wrong in a do-it-yourself draft.
- Can ChatGPT write my will?
Boring Insurance Agency is a licensed insurance agency, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by using this service. These documents are self-help forms prepared from the information you provide. Laws vary by state, and your circumstances may require changes these forms do not make. We recommend you have an attorney licensed in your state review your documents before you sign them.
Written by Kevin Kelsey, founder and principal agent, CA License #6011822. Last updated 2026-10-05.