Marriage changes a person's life in a great number of ways. Thus, it is of no surprise that, following getting married, a person's views on how they want their assets divided when they are gone can be quite a bit different from when they were single.
One trap that a newlywed can fall into when it comes to this is thinking that they have all the time in the world to change their estate plan to reflect these changes and thus that making such changes in a timely manner isn't that important. When one delays updating one's estate plan following a major life change like marriage, they run the risk of having their estate plan not properly set up to carry out their wishes should an unexpected disaster strike.
Thus, estate plan updates can be an important thing for newlyweds to think about.
One thing that a newlywed couple may want to consider doing is having an in-depth discussion with each other about what they want their estate plans to do. This can sometimes be a somewhat uncomfortable topic of conversation, but it can be a very important one. Having such a conversation can help a newlywed couple figure out, clarify and get on the same page as to what their estate planning goals now are.
Once a newlywed couple has an idea of what their estate planning goals are now that they are married, it is important for them to make appropriate updates to all the various things that can have impacts on what happens if one of them becomes incapacitated or passes away. Some of the things this can include are power of attorney documents, advanced medical directives, wills, trusts, property titles and beneficiary designations on insurance policies or retirement accounts.
Estate planning attorneys can help individuals update the various aspects of their estate plan in response to major life changes such as marriage.
Source: Daily Finance, "Estate Planning for Newlyweds," Anna Wroblewska, July 13, 2014