Cohabitating couples, meaning those who live together but are not married, are an increasingly common family structure in the United States. While this arrangement is no longer frowned upon by society, it can pose significant legal challenges when it comes to estate planning because the law has not yet caught up with societal changes. Without the legal protections afforded to married couples, cohabitating partners must take proactive steps to ensure their wishes are honored and their partner is protected in the event of incapacity or death. With that in mind, the Long Island attorneys at Eghrari Law Firm discuss estate planning for cohabitating couples.
Marriage Is No Longer “Required”
There was a time when the only way society would accept a man and a woman living together was if they were legally married. Most Americans no longer feel such societal constraints. In fact, data collected by the U.S. Census tell us that in 1968 only 0.1 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds and 0.2 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds lived with an unmarried partner but 50 years later, in 2018, almost 10 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds cohabitated, and 15 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds lived with an unmarried partner. If you have chosen to postpone, or even forego, marriage in favor of cohabitating with a partner, it is crucial to have a comprehensive estate plan in place that protects both of you and ensures that your wishes will be honored if something happens to you.
The Importance of Estate Planning for Cohabitating Couples
Unlike married couples, cohabitating partners do not have automatic legal rights to each other’s assets or decision-making authority in times of crisis. Without a well-thought out and properly drafted estate plan, intestate succession laws will govern the distribution of your assets upon your death. While intestate succession laws vary by state, they almost uniformly favor biologically and/or legally recognized family members, such as parents, siblings, or children, leaving your partner with no legal claim to your estate.
Even more troubling for many cohabitating couples is the legal obstacles that may be encountered should the need to make medical or financial decisions for a partner arise during incapacity. Without specific legal documents granting authority, a court may appoint someone else, usually a blood relative, as a guardian or conservator, bypassing your partner altogether.
In short, without a detailed estate plan in place, your partner could wind up inheriting nothing from your estate and may be left out of making important, possible life-altering, medical decisions if they need to be made for you because you cannot make them yourself.
Key Estate Planning Documents for Cohabitating Couples
The good news for cohabitating couples is that there are several estate planning tools and strategies that can be used to protect you and your partner as well as ensure that your wishes are honored under a variety of circumstances, such as:
- Last Will and Testament: A Last Will and Testament allows you to designate who will inherit your assets upon your death, who will oversee the probate of your estate, and even who you nominate for guardian of your minor children. For cohabitating couples, executing a Will ensures that your partner receives any property, financial assets, or sentimental items you wish to leave them.
- Revocable Living Trust: A Revocable Living Trust lets your assets bypass probate by placing them in a trust place, making it easier and faster for your partner to access your assets after your death. The same trust can be used as an incapacity planning tool, allowing you to appoint your partner as the Successor Trustee who will take over control of trust assets if you become incapacitated.
- Durable Power of Attorney: A Durable Power of Attorney allows you to appoint your partner to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Without this document, your partner may face legal hurdles in accessing bank accounts, paying bills, or managing jointly owned property.
- Healthcare Power of Attorney: A healthcare Power of Attorney enables you to name a healthcare proxy to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so. For cohabitating couples, this ensures that your partner, rather than a relative, can make critical healthcare decisions that align with your wishes.
- Beneficiary Designations: Certain assets, such as life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts, allow you to name a beneficiary who will automatically inherit the account assets upon your death. These designations bypass probate and ensure that the asset is distributed directly to the named individual.
Can We Help You with Estate Planning for Cohabitating Couples?
For more information, please join us for a FREE estate planning seminar. If you are interested in assistance with estate planning for cohabitating ouples, contact the Long Island estate planning attorneys at Eghrari Law Firm by calling us at 631-265-0599 to schedule your appointment.
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