Estate planning is the process of making sure that your estate maintains and grows in value as you begin to look forward to the time when this estate will support your beneficiaries. An estate is the accumulation of investments, tangible assets, and some intangible assets – but an estate also contains all debts and financial obligations. So the estate plans for how these assets and debts are split to your family, friends, or institutions at the point when you pass away or become incapable to control their decisions.