Importance of Estate Planning for Newly Married Seniors

Seniors who marry late in life have unique estate planning concerns. While every situation is different, a senior who is planning to marry or has recently married can benefit from talking with an experienced estate planning attorney. An updated or new estate plan that fully takes into account each senior’s new personal and financial circumstances can avoid unintended consequences and misunderstandings, and provide peace of mind for the newly married couple in the future.

Timing and Communication

For seniors who are recently married or planning to marry, estate planning often involves complex issues. If one or both seniors have family members from a previous marriage, the estate planning concerns may be particularly complicated. Some financial assets, like a family business or other business, may also pose challenging questions.

Ideally, the senior couple should initiate estate planning discussions before the marriage takes place. Full and honest disclosure in advance by both individuals helps to establish a solid foundation for planning their future together. Talking with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney ensures that each person fully understands the financial and estate consequences and implications of the marriage. Accomplishing that goal in advance of the union enables the couple to prepare to make necessary estate planning changes shortly after the marriage occurs.

The Estate Planning Process

In the estate planning process, each senior identifies their estate goals. Naturally, providing future financial security for a new spouse is a key priority. In some cases, interests of family members from prior marriages, such as adult children and grandchildren, may also be important factors. Planning the future of a family business or other business also may also be a top concern.

In addition to creating estate planning documents to address specific concerns, many assets may require special attention as part of the process. An inventory of assets is an important component of the planning process. The seniors may need to make decisions about whether to combine and share individual assets or keep them separate. An estate planning attorney helps to address those decisions. Assets that should be reviewed include:

• Real estate interests, whether residential, land, vacation, or investment property
• Personal property, especially potentially valuable collections
• Financial accounts with banks, brokerages, and other financial institutions
• Beneficiary accounts and policies, such as retirement and IRA accounts and insurance policies
• Business property, assets, and ownership interests
• Digital assets

Completing the beginning stages of the planning process prepares the seniors to address the structure and contents of their estate plans.

Estate Plan Structure and Documents

An estate planning attorney uses their in-depth understanding of the estate planning goals, personal concerns, and financial assets to develop and explain a recommended estate plan structure and any options that may be available. The documents that are commonly part of an Arizona estate plan include a will (last will and testament) and often (but not always) a trust. If either senior already has these documents, they likely need to be updated and revised to take the marriage into account.

Other specific documents in a complete estate plan relate to planning for incapacity, including a durable financial power of attorney, durable health care (or medical) power of attorney, durable mental health care power of attorney, and living will. In some cases, one or both individuals may already have some of these documents in place, which means existing versions may need to be replaced with revised documents to reflect the marriage.

An experienced estate planning attorney explains the suggested plan structure and available options, including those relating to property distribution, in detail before finalizing new estate plans for the new senior couple. Depending on the circumstances, other issues may be addressed as part of the overall process. When there are concerns relating to family members from a previous marriage of one or both seniors, the attorney helps the senior address all their goals with specific tools and strategies. In many cases, a thoughtful estate plan can diffuse concerns of the other family members that arise because of the marriage.

A sound estate plan that takes all the personal and financial circumstances and concerns of a senior couple preparing to marry (or already married) can go a long way to avoiding unintended consequences and confusion over the implications of the marriage on the financial situation of the couple. Avoiding common estate planning mistakes by getting help from an attorney is also an important step in providing a solid financial foundation for the couple in their new life together.

Schedule a Free Consultation With an East Valley Estate Planning Attorney

At Peterson Law Offices, estate planning is a primary focus of our practice. If you are a newly married senior or a senior planning to wed in the near future, we invite you to reach out to us to talk about creating a new estate plan or revising your existing plan. Your first consultation is always free of charge.

We provide top-quality services at affordable prices and welcome inquiries from clients throughout the East Valley, including Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler. Schedule your free initial consultation by calling 480-878-5998 or using our online contact form.