Estate Planning for the Well-Established Spouse-to-be

This one is for those getting married later in life. Shout out to the 40-somethings tying the knot!

Congrats on your engagement! This is so exciting. We love love and we love helping new couples establish their estate plans together. But we also know that when you get married in your 40s things are a lot different than your 20s.

Today we’re discussing some things to consider at 40-something that you probably wouldn’t have at 20-something.

Prenuptial Agreement

There are lots more big feelings and thoughts surrounding prenups. Kanye even sang about them. So, we get it. Prenups can feel big and scary and complicated. But they aren’t. They also aren’t an indictment of the strength of your relationship.

A prenuptial agreement simply sets the record straight on what is yours and what is your partner’s before you get married. There are so many reasons why this is a wise thing to put in place. But the main one is to make sure the assets you’ve worked hard to collect over the last 2+ decades stay yours if things go sour. Another excellent reason for a prenup is to protect children born to you outside of this relationship.

Trusts

At this stage in your life you’ve been in the workforce for a couple decades and have amassed assets of value. Maybe it’s a home or rental property. Or perhaps it’s crypto or collectibles. Creating a trust as an individual will allow you to make a plan in place for the assets you own independent of this relationship.

Did you know that you can have a Trust, your spouse can have a Trust, and that you can have a joint Trust together? This means that the assets that you amassed prior to your marriage can be managed by your Trust, your spouse’s Trust can do the same, and then you can have a Trust that you establish jointly that manages jointly owned property and assets.

A Trust is an amazing tool to help provide clear guidelines for individually owned and jointly owned assets.

Advance Directives

This document is especially important if there is someone other than your spouse that you want to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event you cannot.

You may recall the case of Terri Schiavo many years ago. Ms. Schiavo suffered a cardiac event which resulted in her being in a permanent vegetative state. She did not have an Advance Directive in place and for the next 15 years a legal battle between her parents and her husband ensued. Her husband said she had previously told him she would not want to live in a vegetative state, while her parents argued that she would not have wanted life support removed. Ultimately the courts sided with her husband. All of this could have been avoided with an Advance Directive. Ms. Schiavo could have named a person to make medical decisions for her while in the vegetative state and she also could have clearly made decisions in advance regarding whether or not she wanted to live in a vegetative state.

An Advance Directive is a must have for every person. But it’s important to ensure that it is updated after a major life event such as marriage.

Beneficiary Designations

It’s always important to review and update your beneficiary designations at least once a year— and always after a major life change like marriage. You may choose to keep your accounts separate after marriage, but it’s important to make sure that the beneficiaries designated remain the same. In many cases, people want to include their spouse as a beneficiary. In other cases, they want to ensure their children or other loved one receive the assets rather than their spouse.

If you’re a newlywed, you need to make sure your designations are correct!

Last Will

It’s absolutely essential to update your Will after marriage. This is because the Courts may make some assumptions if you don’t. The Court’s assumption may actually be exactly what you would want, but do you want to risk it? Instead of rolling the dice, give us a call and let us get everything exactly the way you want it!

Marriage is a beautiful partnership and commitment. We are so happy for you and that you found your person. Let us help you protect yourself, your spouse, and your assets from whatever life may throw at you. Call us at (404) 736-6066 or visit our website to schedule a consultation about how we can help you set yourself up for success in this new season of life!