ESTATE PLANNING FOR COUPLES

For married couples, estate planning is more than simply preparing wills or trusts. Proper estate planning requires careful review of all assets and relationships. It is a continuing process; therefore, it is imperative that an estate plan be reviewed periodically.

There are also numerous options available for unmarried couples or nontraditional families. These options do not fully replicate the legal benefits of marriage, but with careful planning, nontraditional families have viable options for benefitting each other during life or at death. 

With increasing frequency, families are living in situations which there has been no civil marriage, either because a couple chooses not to marry or because they do not have the opportunity to marry.  Without at least some basic estate planning, the state may presume the unmarried individual wants all property to go to, and medical decisions to be made by, his or her next of kin.  In a nontraditional family setting, that is unlikely to be the individual's real intention.  Our law firm appreciates the unique needs of the nontraditional family and will determine how to accomplish the goals of each client to make the estate administration efficient and minimize tax burdens with creative planning techniques. 

Our law firm actively keeps current on the constant developments regarding state law, income tax, estate tax, and entitlements in order to supplement the gaps in the rights afforded to and obligations imposed on nontraditional families.