Nearly everyone can benefit from an estate plan. If you are an unmarried father, estate planning is even more crucial. Unmarried couples do not receive the automatic rights afforded to married couples. By creating an estate plan with your partner, you can protect each other’s property rights, provide each other with important legal abilities, and protect your children and their inheritance rights. An estate planning attorney is essential for determining the right estate planning documents.
There are many reasons why a couple may not want to get married, but it’s still important to understand the legal effect that can have. An estate plan is a set of different documents and legal entities that can manually establish the same rights that are provided to married couples. These benefits only exist if the estate plan is fully valid and enforceable, which is why a skilled attorney is necessary.
The Legal Rights of a Married or Unmarried Father
Couples have automatic rights once they are married, including the right to inherit from a spouse or receive notice of probate proceedings. If you are unmarried, it is important to understand the rights that you may not have so you can address them in an estate plan. Not establishing these rights can complicate several aspects of a couple’s life, especially if one of them is incapacitated or dies. Some complications include:
Property Rights
Under intestate succession law, a surviving spouse inherits property from their deceased spouse when the deceased did not make a will. Depending on the state, the spouse may inherit the entire estate, a portion of it, or all marital property and a portion of separate property.
Unmarried couples do not have any marital property, and they have no legal right to each other’s assets. Many unmarried couples do not get married so they can avoid the commingling of marital property. However, if you want your partner to receive any benefits from your personal property when you die, you need to establish these rights.
Receiving Benefits
A spouse will automatically inherit certain benefits, such as a pension, governmental benefits, or insurance benefits. Unmarried couples will not get these benefits if they do not name their partner as a beneficiary or take other estate planning steps.
Probate Notice
Without an estate plan, only those who will inherit under intestate succession law are notified of a deceased’s probate proceedings. This includes a spouse, but it would not include an unmarried partner. With an estate plan, heirs and beneficiaries named in the will are notified of probate proceedings. You can create an estate plan to ensure that your partner is notified of these proceedings or one that avoids probate entirely.
Medical and Legal Rights
Several medical rights are afforded to spouses automatically, including the right to be informed that their spouse is in the hospital, the right to visit them, the right to make important decisions about their medical care and treatment, and the right to pay medical bills. This is especially important if an individual is incapacitated and cannot make these choices. If unmarried couples want each other to have these crucial rights and abilities, they must establish those in an estate plan.
An estate plan can also determine the specific inheritance rights of your children.
Documents for an Unmarried Couple’s Estate Plan
There are several documents that can help unmarried couples establish important rights and plan for the unexpected:
- A will, where you can name your partner as a beneficiary and as the guardian of your children
- Trusts, which pass assets to the individuals you chose, allowing them to stay out of probate court
- Joint trusts, which partners can make together to protect their assets
- Powers of attorney, which can give your partner the right to make medical choices, financial actions, and other legal powers
- Beneficiary designations, which can give your partner inheritance rights to specific accounts and benefits
- Living will or medical directives, which can state how you want your medical care to be handled
An estate plan can be customized with many different documents to meet your and your family’s unique needs.
FAQs
Q: Is Estate Planning Less Important for Unmarried Couples?
A: No, estate planning is not less important for unmarried couples, and it can even be critical to securing some of the same protections that are automatically provided to married couples. When a spouse dies, their surviving spouse automatically inherits some or all of their estate under the state’s intestate inheritance laws. When someone who is unmarried dies, their partner does not receive anything under these laws.
Estate planning also ensures that you can list your partner as the guardian of your minor children, provide your partner with important legal powers, and establish other protections.
Q: Do Single Individuals Need an Estate Plan?
A: Single individuals need a will, and a more comprehensive estate plan can provide additional benefits. If you have any assets or property at all, a will allows you to state to whom those assets will pass, protecting your assets and ensuring that your wishes are followed. A complete estate plan can help your loved ones save time and money in probate court, often by avoiding it entirely. It can also state your needs and intentions for medical care.
Q: What Is the Right Trust for an Unmarried Couple?
A: The ideal trust for an unmarried couple is typically a revocable trust. This trust, also called a living trust, can be amended to change with a couple’s needs during their lifetimes. Like any trust, it allows you to pass assets privately to beneficiaries without going through the long probate process. Because it is revocable, couples can modify the contents and beneficiaries of the assets, thus maintaining control over the assets.
Q: Why Is Estate Planning Important, Even If You’re Not Extremely Wealthy?
A: Estate planning is important, even if you’re not extremely wealthy, for many reasons, including:
- Granting you control over the individuals or entities that your personal property, real estate, and other assets pass to
- Protecting your own well-being if you are incapacitated
- Helping your loved ones and beneficiaries avoid a lengthy and expensive court process
- Allowing you to protect your minor children and name a guardian
- Keeping certain taxes and expenses from cutting into your heirs’ benefits
- Preventing family disputes over what your intentions were for your estate
Contact Stange Law Firm
Through careful planning, unmarried couples can give each other and their children crucial protection. Contact Stange Law Firm to see how our attorneys can help you create a comprehensive estate plan.
