I can't stress the importance of an estate plan for everyone, but it is even more important for those who are not married. If nothing else if you don't engage an attorney to provided you with estate planning services, those who are not married should at least use payable on death (also known as transfer upon death) accounts for their bank accounts and investments to transfer assets to their partner if that is the objective. These beneficiary designation forms are obtained from the financial institution and may be changed as often as the person wishes. Of course, this does nothing to help with other types of assets nor does it give a person the right to make medical decisions or financial decisions while the partner is living which is part of why it is so very important to see an estate planning attorney.
Recently a woman came to my office, her partner of 32 years had just died rather suddenly at age 70. Neither of them had children, nor had they been married to any one else nor to each other. I was very sad to tell her that there was nothing I could do for her. His legal heirs would be his nieces and nephews, regardless of the fact that there was no close relationship with any of them. Wisconsin does not recognize common law marriages. In fact there are only a very few states which recognize common law marriages. Not only did she not have any inheritance rights to his investment and bank accounts, she also would not be entitled to his social security. What she did have were the funeral bills and creditors calling her for payment for his last medical expenses. Luckily she is not liable for his bills, but she still has to deal with the annoyance of the phone calls during her time of grief.
I can't stress the importance of an estate plan for everyone, but it is even more important for those who are not married. If nothing else if you don't engage an attorney to provided you with estate planning services, those who are not married should at least use payable on death (also known as transfer upon death) accounts for their bank accounts and investments to transfer assets to their partner if that is the objective. These beneficiary designation forms are obtained from the financial institution and may be changed as often as the person wishes. Of course, this does nothing to help with other types of assets nor does it give a person the right to make medical decisions or financial decisions while the partner is living which is part of why it is so very important to see an estate planning attorney.
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AuthorI love a website with a blog. Now I have a platform to write about all the fun things I get to do as an attorney. So look for more posts and feel free to ask me to write about various topics that are of interest to you. Archives
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