Writing a will isn't easy. Oftentimes, it's morbid. Many New Yorkers -- even millionaires -- put off facing mortality by never writing a will. So what happens if you die without a will?

When you leave the world without leaving a will behind, legally speaking you die "intestate."

A major part of estate planning is developing an understanding of your potential tax liability and minimizing this amount.

The federal estate tax, which is imposed on large estates, can be reduced through various estate planning techniques. The following is a list of five methods you may want to think about as ways to reduce your estate taxes:

Even the best-drafted estate plan is useless if there is no way to access your money and property. That's why it is critical to account for things like your keys, PIN numbers, and passwords when drafting an estate plan.

If you do not properly account for these things, your family may be completely precluded from accessing electronic records, as well as cash and jewelry you keep somewhere secure like in a safe.

Here are five tips for keeping track of your passwords, keys, and PIN numbers:

Let's go back to the basics today. Do you really need your estate planned?

For many, the concept of planning an estate sounds like a bigger deal than it is. You might think you don't have enough of an estate to plan; after all, estate planning is for the wealthy, right?

You may also think that it's something that's easy to do by yourself. All you need to do is to write out your wishes on paper and go to a notary, right?

It seems as though everyone is talking about elder care these days. A recent segment on NBC's "Today" discussed how to talk finances with your kids.

Many children assume that their parents have financially planned for their old age. The result is that they don't necessarily think there is much need to look after their parents' financial well being as they get older.

Last week, there was some shocking news out of an independent living facility in California.

The story really drives home the importance of having a proper health care directive. It also raises some important concerns involving the rights of patients in elder care and nursing home facilities. As a result, it's imperative upon anyone entering a nursing home to have their proper estate planning documents laid out and drafted.

In the California case, a woman died at an independent living facility after a woman (who identified herself as a nurse) declined to perform CPR when a 911 dispatcher asked her to, the Los Angeles Times reports.

What is a revocable living trust?

It’s an important part of even some of the most basic estate plans. So that being said, it’s an important estate planning concept to know. So what is it?

Don’t be scared by the fact that it sounds complex. It’s actually a simple concept and one of the most fundamental pieces of an estate plan.

Many people think that a will is the only estate planning document out there. When they think if estate planning, they assume that a will is all they need.

We've discussed the variety of documents in an estate plan on this blog many times before. While a will is one of the more important estate planning documents, it's not the only one.

We've gone over some of the more common estate planning documents, tools and terms, such as those you're likely to see in a basic estate plan. Now, let's take the time to talk about some of the more obscure ones -- the kinds of terms you're likely to come across in more complex estate plans.

There are many ways to plan for your future and for your children. Those who have children with special needs sometimes have a lot more on their plates, especially when it comes to planning the future of their children.

That's what special needs trusts are for. They are essentially trusts that allow the parent to put aside a certain amount for a child with special needs.

These trusts are designed to give the child income for a set period of time without losing access to state assistance.

What are the necessary documents in an estate plan? Estate plans vary, and depending on the size of your estate, you could have either a very simple estate plan or a very complex one.

But if we go back to basics, most estate plans have a few general things in common, whether they are for small estates or multimillion-dollar ones.

Here is a list of the five must-have documents for a basic estate plan: