After getting married, one of the most important legal decisions a couple makes is estate planning. Estate planning ensures that after you are gone, your spouse and your children are well taken care of. Thus, this article pertains to the various elements that a married couple must consider during estate planning. Proper and well-documented planning is the best way to distribute your assets among your loved ones.
What Is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is a legal procedure through which you can distribute all your belongings and assets among family members and friends who you intend to. Since it has to be done legally, care must be taken while distributing the assets to avoid a mess later.
Why Is Estate Planning Necessary?
Here are some of the common and essential reasons any married couple should opt for estate planning.
- It helps you give control of all of your assets after your death.
- It ensures your family’s financial stability even when you are not around.
- You can have your medical guardian just in case you are not in a position to make fair decisions.
- It makes the transition of property and assets to the beneficiaries and spouse pretty easy.
- Through estate planning, you can choose the person to administer your assets. This might not happen if the decision lies in the hands of the court.
- The burden of funeral planning can also be reduced through estate planning.
Estate Planning for Married Couples
There are so many reasons why married couples must consider estate planning. These are some significant reasons and tips for married couples regarding estate planning.
Tax Deduction
It is one of the most popular reasons married couples opt for estate planning. If you give all of your estates to your spouse, you can lessen the tax burden. This is called the marital deduction. The estate would naturally take a marital deduction for the amount of property your spouse inherits. But the thing is, there is no limit to the marital deduction. So if you want your spouse to take care of all your assets after you are no more, this is one of the best ways.
Child Guardianship
If you and your spouse have minor children, then it is necessary to mention the guardian of your children in the will. This is necessary as it will ensure the child’s custody after your death. In the case of the end of both the parents then, the child is given to a third guardian. Mostly the guardianship is given to the better half or a very close family member.
Remember, if you have no children or children who are not minors, then legal guardianship is not required in estate planning.
This same rule applies in the case of pets as well. You can appoint any guardian to your pet if something happens to you. You can legally give the authority to the appointed guardian through estate planning.
This shows that the estate planning field is very dynamic, and you can use it to legally distribute all your belongings to specific people of your choosing.
Marital Property Distribution
Marital property pertains to the property you have acquired together as a married couple. It can be a joined account or a property, or a car. Generally, if one of the partners dies, the property goes to the other. But it would help if you discussed with your spouse who to give it to if you both meet with an accidental death. You can provide the authority of your marital property to your children or a close relative who you trust the most. It is necessary to always pass on your assets to people who would take good care of them.
Health Care Planning
This is a must for people who are thinking of estate planning. Through health care planning, you can give authority to your spouse to make medical decisions for yourself just in case you can’t do it yourself.
Conclusion!
All married couples need to have proper estate planning, and we hope that this article will help you in this respect.
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