No one wants to plan for his or her own demise, especially if you’ve just welcomed a new baby or just gotten married. But if you don’t have an estate plan, now is the time to create one. An estate plan is a series of legal documents created with a qualified estate planning attorney that sets out your wishes for the disposition of your assets and the responsibility for your dependents if they are minors when you die.
One area often overlooked by newly married couples is the importance of having a Will and other advance care directives. Being married does not give spouses the legal right to make critical medical and financial decisions for each other if one dies or is incapacitated. Without the proper documents in place, you will not be able protect your loved one at the worst possible time.
Many young couples think they do not need a Will because if one spouse dies, all assets will automatically go to the surviving spouse. Although this is true if there are no children, if there are children, 50% goes to the spouse and 50% to the children.
Without a Will, the process is much more complex, time-intensive and stressful. When you have children, not having a Will makes the challenges even more complex. If there are children under age 18, when there is no Will in place, the Court supervises assets left to your children until the children turn 18.
We created a special plan for new families, “Get It Right From the Start,” to address these and other related issues. Call the office at 516-307-1236 to learn more.