Hilary Carter Law

04/22/2020

Tune Up Your Estate Plan When You Remarry

In the excitement of getting remarried, the need to redo your estate plan is often overlooked. You may have created your estate plan during a first marriage, after the death of a spouse or after a divorce and never updated it. Now a new person is entering your life and you likely want to give them certain legal authority or may need to deal with the complications of a blended family. The following are some steps you should consider:

1. Take an inventory. If you have not already done so as part of preparing a prenuptial agreement, you and your partner should take an inventory of your assets and debts and share it with the other person. Don't forget to include life insurance policies and retirement plans in your inventories.

2. Decide how you want to handle finances and how your estate plan may be changed by this decision. Are you going to combine (or not combine) assets after you are married? Will you jointly purchase a home or will one of you move into a home owned by the other? If so, will he or she contribute to the cost of the house? If one partner has significant debt, you may not want to combine finances or make joint purchases. Making these decisions up front will set your expectations.

3. Determine what you want to happen when you die. Where will each of your assets go when you die? This can be complicated if you have children from a prior marriage. There is no guarantee that if you leave your assets to your new spouse, he or she will leave anything to your children after you die. An estate planning attorney can walk you through the options to ensure your wishes are carried out.

4. Consult an elder law or estate planning attorney. Whether your estate is large or small, you should consult an attorney. You will need to update your will or trust and update or create other estate planning documents including a durable power of attorney and a health care directive.

5. Update your beneficiaries. You may want to change the beneficiaries on your life insurance policies, annuities, and/or retirement plans. You should consider any limitations that a divorce decree may impose on you before you make any changes.

6. Consider a prenuptial agreement. Although we enter into a marriage with the best expectations, divorces happen. A prenuptial agree may be an important planning tool, especially when one or both parties bring considerable assets to the marriage or there are children from a prior marriage.

Discussing these issues will help you get on the same page with your future spouse and will help you be better prepared to work with your estate planning attorney.

04/08/2020

This is an interesting article about broaching the topic of estate planning with parents.

To talk about estate planning with your parents, get the whole family involved, understand their plan, and be there to help and support them.

04/07/2020

ESTATE PLANNING IN THE FACE OF COVID-19

Seeing the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise and recognizing that you could be touched by this disease, you may have started thinking about your estate planning.

There are some critical estate planning decisions you should make – or review – right now.

Ask yourself these basic questions:

Who will make medical decisions for me should I become severely ill and unable to make these decisions myself?
Who will make my financial decisions if I become incapacitated — for example, who will be authorized to sign my income tax return, write checks or pay my bills online?
Who is authorized to take care of my minor children in the event of my severe illness? What decisions are they authorized to make? How will they carry the financial burden?
If the unthinkable happens – what arrangements have I made for the care of my minor children, any family members with special needs, my pets or other vulnerable loved ones?
How will my business continue if I were to become seriously ill and unable to work — even remotely — or in the event of my death?
These are some of the most important decisions to consider now to protect yourself and your loved ones during this emergency. We are ready to walk you through these decisions, help you to understand the ramifications of your choices, and memorialize your plans in legal documents. The attorneys at Hilary Carter Law are currently offering telephone and video conferences. Make an appointment now and let us help you make the right choices for yourself and your loved ones.