This is educational information, not legal advice. Consult an estate attorney licensed in your state.
LGBTQ+ estate planning is the set of legal documents (a will, powers of attorney, a healthcare directive, and beneficiary designations) that ensure your money and medical decisions are handled by loved ones, not bloodline by default. Without documents, an unmarried partner or a close friend usually has no default rights at all.
A survey from the UK-based LGBTQ charity Just Like Us found that 46% of LGBTQ+ adults were estranged from at least one family member. Sadly, many queer people don't have strong bonds with blood relatives (or perhaps they don't want them). Estate planning ensures that the people you trust and care about are the ones taken care of, and the ones who take care of you.
Here's a quick primer on the basics.
This is your estate-planning hub. The deep dives below cover what happens without a plan, how unmarried couples hold title, naming a partner as beneficiary, and protecting your money in a breakup.
The queer estate gap, in three numbers
- Only about 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people have a will. (The Motley Fool)
- Roughly 1 in 3 U.S. adults overall have a will, about 31%. (Trust & Will, 2025)
- Same-sex marriage has been legal nationwide only since 2015, so unmarried partners still get no default inheritance or medical-decision rights. (Obergefell v. Hodges)
Why does estate planning matter more for LGBTQ+ people?
The law's defaults prioritize blood relatives, not chosen family, and laws vary state to state. If you die or become incapacitated without documents, state law hands your assets and decisions to your spouse and blood relatives in a fixed order. Unmarried partners and close friends don't count. Only about 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people have a will (The Motley Fool), which leaves many of those relationships legally invisible when it matters most.
What is the LGBTQ+ wills gap?
The LGBTQ+ wills gap is the fact that queer people are less likely to have a will than the overall population. Only about 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people have a will (The Motley Fool), versus roughly 1 in 3 U.S. adults overall, about 31% (Trust & Will, 2025). The people least protected by the defaults are also the least likely to have opted out of them.
What estate-planning documents do you actually need?
Most LGBTQ+ estate plans rest on four documents: a will, a durable power of attorney, a healthcare directive (with a HIPAA release), and up-to-date beneficiary designations.
- The will directs your assets.
- The durable power of attorney lets someone manage your finances if you are incapacitated.
- The healthcare directive names who makes medical decisions and can see your records.
- Beneficiary designations on retirement and life-insurance accounts pass directly, overriding your will.
What happens without a will (intestacy) for unmarried couples and chosen family?
Without a will, state intestacy law decides who inherits, and it almost never includes an unmarried partner or chosen family. Intestacy statutes distribute your estate to a spouse and blood relatives in a set order: parents, then siblings, then more distant kin. An unmarried partner, close friend, or stepchild you never formally adopted typically inherits nothing, no matter how long you were together (Nolo). The same default logic can hand financial, medical, and funeral decisions to relatives you may be estranged from.
What should transgender people know about estate planning?
For transgender and nonbinary people, your name and gender marker should match across your will, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, and government IDs as much as possible. A document that still uses a deadname or an old gender marker can create confusion or give unsupportive relatives an opening to challenge your wishes in probate (ACTEC). Naming beneficiaries by current legal name (with any prior names noted), adding a no-contest clause, and settling guardianship for any children in writing all reduce that risk.
For last wishes, also consider an agent of disposition of remains, or funeral representative. This person oversees the handling of your body, as well as your clothing and appearance if you are laid to rest.
Estate-planning action steps
- Make or update a will that names your partner, chosen family, or whoever you actually want to inherit.
- Sign a durable financial power of attorney and a healthcare directive with a HIPAA release, naming the person you trust to act.
- Review beneficiary designations on every retirement account, life-insurance policy, and payable-on-death account; these override your will.
- If you are unmarried, do not rely on default rights: put titling, partnership agreements, and documents in place.
- For transgender and nonbinary people, align your name and gender marker across all documents and IDs, and consider a no-contest clause.
- Work with an estate attorney licensed in your state and, where helpful, an LGBTQ+-affirming financial professional.
LGBTQ+ estate planning FAQs
Why is estate planning especially important for LGBTQ+ people?+
Default state inheritance and medical-decision laws recognize spouses and blood relatives, not unmarried partners or chosen family. Only about 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people have a will (The Motley Fool), so many queer relationships are left legally invisible. A will, powers of attorney, a healthcare directive, and current beneficiary designations put your wishes in writing.
What percentage of LGBTQ+ people have a will?+
Only about 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people have a will, according to The Motley Fool. That is slightly lower than the roughly 1 in 3 U.S. adults overall found in a 2025 Trust & Will report. The gap is significant because default inheritance laws are least likely to reflect queer families.
What estate-planning documents do LGBTQ+ people need?+
Four core documents cover most situations: a will, a durable financial power of attorney, a healthcare directive with a HIPAA release, and up-to-date beneficiary designations on retirement and life-insurance accounts. For unmarried partners, these documents replace the rights that marriage would otherwise grant automatically.
What happens to an unmarried partner if there is no will?+
Under state intestacy law, an unmarried partner usually inherits nothing, no matter how long the relationship lasted (Nolo). Assets pass to a spouse and blood relatives in a fixed order, and medical or funeral decisions can go to relatives instead of the partner. A will and powers of attorney are what change that outcome.
Do married same-sex spouses still need estate documents?+
Yes. Since Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), married same-sex spouses get the same default inheritance and decision-making rights as any married couple, but a will, powers of attorney, and current beneficiary designations still control how assets pass. They name guardians and avoid probate disputes.
This is educational information, not legal advice. Consult an estate attorney licensed in your state.
