Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples

Estate planning for unmarried couples is just as important for unmarried couples as it is for families.  According to the 2012 census data, there are almost 8 million couples who are living together, but are not legally married.  Small amount of preparation can go a long way towards ensuring that your partner is protected.

Will

If you die without a will, the court distributes your property according to law.  In Ohio, if there is no legal spouse, children and other descendants or ancestors may be entitled to the entire probate estate.  This may lead to your partner not receiving any probate assets.  So, to ensure that your partner is taken care out of your probate assets, you need to create a valid will.

 Power of attorney

If an unmarried person becomes disabled and is not able to make their own decisions, their partner cannot make any decisions for them without a valid power of attorney.  Creating a valid power of attorney allows the partner to make wide variety of decisions – from medical to financial. 

Life insurance policies, 401k, and other accounts

Generally, assets like life insurance policies, 401k, and IRAs are considered to be non-probate assets (cannot pass through the will).  Instead, these assets pass to a named beneficiary.  Some beneficiaries might have been named long time ago, and their current relationship with you might have changed.  This named beneficiary automatically receives the assets after your death, and trying to stop this from occurring might lead to a long and expensive legal battle.  Updating your beneficiaries on non-probate assets might avoid these types of situations.

Home ownership

Legal status of home ownership at the time of your death will affect how the home is passed on. Buying, owning, and maintaining a home may be a concerted effort of both parties.  However, even if the other partner contributed funds to purchase of the property, unless their name is on the deed, there may not be any legal interest in the property.  To circumvent this issue, couples may have a deed with both names on it (“joint owners with right of survivorship”).  In addition, you can also create a “transfer on death deed”, and naming your partner as a beneficiary.

Joint Bank Accounts

If your bank account is only in your name, but the funds are used for shared expenses, the money in the account will not pass to your partner.  This can be avoided by creating a joint bank account, where the surviving partner automatically owns the remaining funds.  Additionally, you could create a “payable on death” account, however, the beneficiary of such account has no rights in it until your death.