Your relationship status directly shapes how you manage, title, and distribute your assets. Whether you’re single, married, divorced, or widowed, your life stage affects your financial decisions today and the legacy you leave behind. Experienced estate planning attorneys help you understand these impacts so you can build a thoughtful, resilient estate plan.
Estate Planning for Single or Unmarried Individuals
As a single individual, you may have a wide variety of individuals or charities that you wish to provide for in your estate plan. Key steps can include:
- Preparing a Will or Revocable Trust to ensure your assets are transferred to your desired beneficiaries.
- Designating beneficiaries on bank accounts, retirement accounts, and insurance policies
- Establishing powers of attorney for healthcare and finances
- Consider the pros and cons of preparing a prenuptial agreement
Without these documents, your assets may not pass according to your wishes if you become incapacitated or die.
Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples
Domestic Partner or Engaged
Engaged or domestic partners have limited legal protections compared to married couples, but often still desire to provide for their partners in some way. Potential steps may include:
- Creating a will or revocable trust that lists your partner as a beneficiary
- Establishing powers of attorney for healthcare and finances
- Establishing a cohabitation agreement that clarifies property rights
Cohabitating Couples
A cohabitating couple lives together in a committed, unmarried relationship while managing shared finances and property without the legal protections of marriage. Cohabitating couples should actively manage how they hold and transfer assets:
- Decide how to title a property
- Use wills or revocable trusts to transfer assets smoothly to your partner
- Update beneficiary designations on insurance policies and accounts
Without these steps, your partner may have no legal claim to your assets or decision-making authority.
Reviewing Your Estate Plan as a Newly Married Couple
Marriage adds both protections and obligations. You should:
- Review and update titles, beneficiary designations, wills, and trusts
- Understand your rights under state law
- For example, Minnesota’s elective share for suriviving spouses. This allows a surviving spouse to claim a portion of their deceased partner’s estate, regardless of what is written in their will.
Estate Planning for Married Couples with Children
Married with Children
Welcoming children introduces new responsibilities that directly impact your estate plan. As a married couple, you should take the following steps to protect your growing family:
- Name legal guardians for minor children
- Update beneficiary designations and consider establishing trusts in your estate plan to manage property for children until they reach an appropriate age
- Review and adjust property ownership and financial accounts
- Evaluate life insurance and disability coverage
By proactively addressing these considerations, you ensure that your estate plan aligns with your family’s evolving needs.
Remarried with Children
Remarriage introduces complexity, especially when children are involved from prior relationships. To address this, you can:
- Create qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trusts
- Establish trust structures to provide for a current spouse while preserving assets for children
- Update beneficiary designations, wills, and trusts to reflect your blended family
Updating Your Estate After Getting Divorced or Widowed
Divorced
Divorce requires a complete reassessment of your estate plan:
- Update or remove your former spouse as a beneficiary
- Revise wills, trusts, and powers of attorney
- Align non-probate assets with your current intentions
Widowed
Widows and widowers should manage both practical and emotional estate considerations:
- Review inherited assets and decide whether to place them in trusts
- Update wills, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations
- Understand state protections, such as Minnesota’s elective share for surviving spouses
Tailor Your Estate Plan to Your Life Stage
Regardless of your relationship status, proactively reviewing and updating your estate plan ensures it aligns with your current life stage and long-term goals.
Take the next step today by contacting us to create a plan that protects your assets, supports your loved ones, and reflects your life story.
Andrew Kremer Law offers estate legal services as part of their affiliation with Boulay.