Estate Planning | With a rising number of divorces, and more nontraditional families than ever, it’s important to revisit how we look at estate planning, and be prepared for the future. If you are in a relationship, not married, have children outside of marriage, you will likely have to take extra steps with an estate planning attorney to ensure your rights and the rights of your loved ones are taken care of.
One of the best ways to start the estate planning process with your family is to sit down and write your goals down. Are you primarily concerned with providing for children? Or are you hopging to protect a spouse or partner? Ultimately, you should prioritize your goals and talk with an estate planning attorney on how to accomplish them and plan for the future.
It’s important to ensure your partner or spouse is protected. While there are intestacy laws that protect the rights of spouses, there are no protections for unmarried partners. Make sure to spell out all requests in a will or trust. This will ensure your wishes are recorded properly. Of course, you want to ensure your partner is protected, but you also want to ensure that your children still retain some of their rights.
If you are planning on getting married, you shouldn’t be afraid to discuss a pre-nup. Putting a pre-nup in place ensures that couples have important conversations regarding finances and assets in place. The couple should talk about children, any prior marriages and ensure all matters are kept in writing. This can protect couples later down the road in life.
If you have a nontraditional family and are looking for legal support, contact an estate planning attorney at The Law Office of Michelangelo Mortellaro. They can help you along every step of the way to ensure your family is cared and protected for.