New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Estate planning should be tailored to fit your unique situation. Each person has their own list of objectives that they must achieve. The issues that unmarried people must address are different from those that need to be tackled by married couples. This article reviews some of the common issues that arise when unmarried couples engage in estate planning.
Taking Domestic Partners Into Consideration
Married couples are bestowed under the law with certain rights and obligations that unmarried individuals simply do not have. State laws for married individuals involving property division do not extend to people who are in relationships but not married. Laws are not the same for unmarried individuals in case of a break-up or death. With adequate estate planning, unmarried people can create estate planning documents to make sure that their wishes are carried out when it comes to things like estate planning.
Planning for Children
Unmarried individuals routinely have children from prior relationships or with people to whom they are not married. As a result, it’s a good idea to make sure that parents have adequate estate planning documents to resolve things like guardianship and child custody. Estate plans should also tackle how parent’s assets will be passed on to their children. If you fail to adequately plan for your children, a risk exists that they might end up receiving care dictated by New York state law.
Potential Incapacity
People should have documents in place to address incapacity planning during their lifetime. Having a power of healthcare attorney can help to resolve incapacity issues. Having documents like power of attorney for healthcare and finances can help to avoid the need to go to court to make healthcare decisions or manage finances. If you lack a spouse to help with incapacity issues, it’s even more important to create an estate planning document to tackle these issues.
Protecting Assets
Estate planning lawyers can help individuals who want to consider asset protection while estate planning. Asset protection is critical for people who work in industries where a likelihood of creditor risks exist as well as for people who plan on needing a nursing home at some time in the future.
Tackling Long Term Care Issues
Taking long-term care issues into consideration is often critical for unmarried people because they often do not have spouses to care for their needs, particularly when these individuals reach advanced age. The older a person is, the more likely that individual needs long-term care. Obtaining long-term care is often a more substantial concern for unmarried individuals.
Do Not Hesitate to Speak with a Skilled Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning is just as critical for unmarried individuals as it is for people who are married. Remember, your estate plan should match your unique needs. If you need help creating an estate plan that matches your goals, you should not hesitate to speak with an experienced estate planning lawyer at Ettinger Law Firm today to schedule a free case evaluation.