• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Wilcox Attorneys, PA

Wilcox Attorneys, PA an Arkansas Estate Planning & Trust Information Center

Northwest Arkansas Estate Planning Attorneys (479) 443-0062

Client Vault
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • Our Firm
    • About the American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • News & Events
    • Speaker Connection
  • services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Incapacity Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • Secure Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Webinars
  • Practice Areas
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • Estate Planning Articles
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Pet Planning
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Newsletters
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Trust Administration & Probate Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Contact Us
  • Blog

Why Unmarried Couples Need Estate Planning

November 21, 2017 by Deb Sexton Leave a Comment

This is an article from Hunter Law Office (www.hunterlawoffice.net) in Fishers, Indiana, that we thought others may find helpful.

Ward and June Cleaver are no longer the symbol of the American family. More adults are deciding to not marry at all and choose to live together as a family without marriage. While there is nothing wrong with this choice, the need for these couples to do estate planning is essential so that the couple’s wishes at the end of life can be fulfilled.

Estate planning means that you created a set of directions regarding the distribution of all of the assets that you own at the time of your death. These types of plans are equipped with effortless amendment procedures designed to flex with the changes in your life.

Even if you do not have a will, everyone in the United States has an estate plan. Each state has laws regarding how assets/property is to be distributed upon a person’s death when they do not have a will. When a person dies without a will, that person is said to have died intestate. These Laws of Intestacy divide up assets of the deceased person with no thought for family dynamics. This can be extremely devastating if there is an unmarried couple. For example, in some states, the assets of an unmarried person who has no living children go to the surviving parents of the deceased. Generally speaking, the surviving partner would get nothing.

Having a will allows you to decide what you would like to have done with your property. It protects the surviving partner by allowing assets to pass to them as you would have wished rather than having the State decide. A will must go through probate, which is the court process required in most cases for disposing and transferring your assets. This process can be lengthy, costly and is always open to contest.

Another option is a Revocable Living Trust. You are the creator of the trust and the Trustee of the trust. You decide what assets you would like in the trust and you have complete power over how those assets are handled during your life. A Revocable Living Trust allows you to create detailed instructions of who gets the assets, when they get them, what specific asset it being passed, and how it is to be used. You decide who the Beneficiaries are and what they are entitled to receive. If your surviving partner were named the beneficiary, then that person would receive everything that you planned for him to receive through the trust.

Some people believe that other family members will “know” what to do with their stuff and would never think that they would not “give” it to the surviving partner instead of keeping it because they received it by the State. That could happen, but are you willing to take the chance?

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Deb Sexton
Latest posts by Deb Sexton (see all)
  • Estate Planning is Essential Whether You Are Married or Not - April 25, 2018
  • Income Tax Basis in Estate Planning – Part 2 - April 23, 2018
  • The Downsizing Generation: How to Handle a Surplus of Stuff When a Loved One Ages - April 18, 2018

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Wilcox Attorneys, PA

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Subscribe to Our Blog

Subscribe to our blog for all the latest estate planning news and updates!

Office Address

Fayetteville
2766 Millennium Drive
Fayetteville, AR 72703
Phone: (479) 443-0062

Office Address

Prairie Grove
1100 Division Street, Suite 4
Prairie Grove, AR 72753
Phone: (479) 846-6026

( By Appointment Only )

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Map

map for office
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

footer-logo

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.