Estate planning serves two purposes: Helping to protect your family’s finances and making life easier for yourself and your family down the line. For instance, you could use an estate plan to specify who should inherit which assets, dictate how an inheritance is used, and potentially avoid IRS taxes on an inheritance. You could also use estate planning to protect assets in case you need nursing home care, provide instructions for your future medical care, and designate who should make decisions on your behalf in case of incapacity.