In my last article, we looked at questions couples should ask themselves as they move forward with their estate planning. Typically, couples hire an attorney jointly. However, depending on the circumstances, that may not be ideal. This article, Estate Planning Considerations for Married Couples, helps you explore whether separate or joint estate plans are best for your particular situation.
Children
Are there children from a previous relationship or marriage?
If there are children, are your discussions between you and your spouse tense when you talk about the division of property or accounts upon the death of one, the other, or both of you?
Property & Philanthropic Goals
What property was brought into the marriage? Was significantly more property brought into the marriage by one of you?
In your estate planning, do you share the same philanthropic goals, or are your ideas very different?
Contracts
Did you and your spouse sign a postnuptial or prenuptial agreement?
If the answer is yes, are you both interested in changing the terms of that contract through your estate plan or an amendment to the agreement?
Secrets
Are there any secrets you’d rather not reveal to your spouse in your estate plan?
An example of such a secret may be an illegitimate child you did not disclose.
Long term, the old adage, “Honesty is the best policy,” might be the most advantageous in a marriage.
Additional Considerations
These are only some reasons you may want to obtain separate legal counsel for your estate planning.
There are additional questions you can ask yourselves. In particular, are there aspects of your family and financial relationship that will likely cause misunderstanding and contention between you?
If the answer is yes, separate legal counsel should be considered. Separate counsel can assist in the negotiation and resolution of the estate planning and legal issues that converge with these difficult areas.
However, for any couples who are interested and willing to work through these differences, it may be possible to engage an attorney jointly to help with your estate plan. There are advantages to joint representation. For example, the attorney can act as an educator and mediator who can assist you in the identification of challenges and offer creative solutions. Additionally, when fewer people are involved, communication and information tend to flow more freely. Finally, the legal representation is typically less expensive.
If you are a resident of Colorado or Florida and wish assistance with your estate planning needs, feel free to reach out to me.
© 2021 Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer
