Today's blog is focused on basic family estate planning for married couples. There are several essential documents that are critical for married couples. The first document is a Revocable Living Trust or otherwise known as a "Living Trust". A Living Trust is an estate planning document, which distributes your property upon your incapacity or death. The key to a Living Trust is to properly fund and transfer your assets into your trust such as your home, bank accounts, mutual funds, and cds. Pretty much everything except retirement accounts.
The second critical document for married couples is a power of attorney for property. A power of attorney for property is a legal instrument that grants your spouse or another person permission to make financial decisions for you in case of an incapacity. A power of attorney for property is critical because it will assist you avoid a guardianship court proceeding, which is a big hassle.
The third critical document for married couples is a power of attorney for healthcare. A power of attorney for healthcare is a legal document that grants permission to your agent (typically your spouse) to make healthcare decisions for you when you are unable to make your own decisions.
The fourth critical document is a pour over will. A pour over will is combined with the Living Trust in case you forget to transfer all of your assets into your Living Trust. The pour over will transfers all of your assets to your Living Trust.
In conclusion, estate planning for married couples is crucial because accidents and life has a way of sneaking up on us. It is important to be financially prepared for an incapacity or death even amongst young couples.
Sean Robertson is an estate planning and asset protection attorney with expertise representing married couples. Sean Robertson can be reached at (312) 498-6080 or Sean@RobertsonLawGroup.com.
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