Married couples without children and wills- to have or not to have:

Most Americans (including couples without children) should have basic legal documents such as wills as discussed in prior posts. Most of us including educated, professionals and celebrities die without one or intestate. These individuals can’t face their own mortality or just aren’t aware of the implications of this decision.

My friend JT is a married young professional, with no children. When asking him if he had a will or an estate plan, his reply was, do I need one? I do not have any kids yet. My answer to JT and all young couples without children yet: is YES. Here is why and how.

First- employees and self-employed individuals generally opt for life insurance policies offered through work to provide liquidity to survivors on the cheap. They also contribute to their retirement plans offered to benefit of the income tax deductions provided in our tax system. These steps are great ways to start building your nest egg as well as provide some protection to your survivors in case of death, however, beware of some of the following traps.

Both life insurance policies and retirement plans such as 401(K)’s and IRA’s require beneficiary designation forms to be completed when you start the program. MAKE SURE, to check this form on a regular basis since the beneficiary designation forms do not follow your will and last testament. The beneficiary named on these forms will inherit this asset regardless of what you will documents say. For example, if you completed a 401(K) beneficiary designation form naming a sibling when you first started working. Years later, you were married, and named your spouse, as your beneficiary in your simple will document. Guess who will inherit this 401(K)? You guessed right, your sibling will. If you have multiple life insurance policies or switched jobs and have several retirement plans, CHECK THESE FORMS ON A REGULAR BASIS.

Second- The Probate court in your state depending on the intestacy laws in the state will provide one third to one half of your assets to your surviving spouse, providing the remainder to your surviving parents and siblings. So, if your goal is to provide your surviving spouse with all your assets, then drafting a will indicating such a wish is necessary. This is especially important if as a couple you both are jointly liable for your home mortgage as well as other personal debt.

9 Steps Joe The Plumber regarding his estate planning:

1) Take a complete inventory of all your assets and their values
2) Confirm the form of ownership of these assets since it will impact your estate plan
3) Verify the beneficiary designation forms on your life insurance policies and retirement plans
4) Consider your minor children and name guardians and successor guardians
5) Set up trusts for your minor children and name trustees and successor trustees to manage these trust assets
6) Provide your spouse with a durable power of attorney to take care of financial decisions when you are unable to
7) Repeat the above providing your spouse with a healthcare power of attorney to take care of healthcare decisions in case of your incapacitation
8) Select an experienced attorney to draft your estate plan and legal documents
9) Review your estate plan on a regular basis since changes do happen to you, your family and the law

Let me tell you about Mr. & Mrs. Joe Small. The Smalls are a couple in their mid thirties, so estate planning wasn't a concern (they are invincible after all). Joe is a hard working small business owner trying to provide for his family, while Jane is a stay at home mom taking care of their 3 minor boys. The Smalls, had none of the basic estate planning documents in place, no wills, or trusts, no financial or healthcare power of attorney, and no guardians named to care for their children.

One day, Jane got a call from Joe's office; Joe had a heart attack and was moved to the nearest hospital. Jane was numb; she depended on her husband completely as he managed their finances. What if anything happened to Joe? What would she do with the business? How about the mortgage and their other debt? Do they have enough life insurance to provide for her and her children?

Jane wakes up from her horrible nightmare, waking Joe up and insisting that they schedule a meeting with their estate-planning attorney to start working on their estate plan.

In addition to the 9 steps above, Joe should draft a letter of instructions, which as the name implies provides specific instructions to Jane (no pun intended) on who to contact (ie, which advisor to call first) to give her the piece of mind they both need to sleep at night.

Stay Tuned for more details about the next steps in the Small’s scenario… This should be fun.