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Estate Planning Advice After You Get Married

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Overland Park Elder Law Lawyers

Overland Park estate planning lawyers provide you with advice on financial issues, legacy planning issues, and incapacity planning. It is important for you to have a financial plan in place at all times, and to address what will happen if you get sick, at the end of your life, and after your death. These issues do not just affect older people, they impact individuals of all ages. You should put a plan in place to protect yourself and your loved ones in the future and then keep that plan updated on a regular basis so your plans always reflect your most current situation.

One key life change that requires estate planning advice is getting married. When you get married, you have a spouse who may be dependent upon you and whose financial future is intertwined with your financial security. You owe it to yourself and your new spouse to make the right plans for your future.

Parman & Easterday can help. Our Overland Park lawyers will work with you to determine all the steps you need to take to protect your spouse after your marriage and will help you to make effective use of legal tools aimed at securing a financially stable future for both spouses.

Estate Planning Tips For After A Marriage

Everyone’s situation is different, and the implications of your marriage on your financial plan and estate plan may be unique to you. However, some steps that most people should take after marriage include:

  • Adjusting your retirement plans: Your ability to contribute to tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as an IRA can change after marriage. If your combined household income is too high once you’ve married and either you or your spouse have a retirement plan at work, you may lose the tax deduction for investing in an IRA. On the other hand, it may be possible for you to invest in a spousal IRA for a non-working spouse if you are working. You need to know the rules and how to take advantage of tax breaks for retirement now that you’re married.
  • Adjusting your estate plan: You probably want to leave some assets to your new spouse. If you don’t, your spouse could take a statutory elective share and claim a part of your assets anyway. This is a decision you need to make together.  You may also be able to avoid estate tax, if your estate would otherwise be subject to it, by leaving assets to a surviving spouse.
  • Adjusting your incapacity plan: If you become incapacitated, do you want your surviving spouse to make medical decisions for you and to manage your other financial and personal affairs? You may need to adjust your incapacity plan if you already have a power of attorney in place giving someone else authority, or you may need to create one if you don’t have one yet. If you want to spare your spouse guilt, you should also consider using advanced directives to express your wishes for accepting or declining certain life-saving care.
  • Adjusting your insurance coverage: After marriage, your spouse could be dependent upon your income to help pay the mortgage and other life costs, or could become dependent on services you provide, such as childcare. Purchasing insurance can be important so there is money available if you pass away or become disabled and can no longer contribute to the household. Disability insurance and life insurance are two key types of insurance policies that it often makes sense to acquire after marriage.

Parman & Easterday can help you decide if you need to take these and other steps and can also provide advice on other things you should do after you’ve tied the knot and have a spouse whose future is tied to yours.

Getting Help From Overland Park Estate Planning Lawyers

If you’ve tied the knot, don’t wait to update your estate plan, incapacity plan or financial plan. Call Parman & Easterday today to talk with our Overland Park lawyers who can help you understand the steps to take to make effective use of legal tools to secure your future. You can find out more about the estate planning steps to take after marriage if you join us for a free seminar. You can get personalized one-on-one help if you give us a call today at (405) 843-6100 or contact us online. Take action today before it is too late because an unexpected illness strikes or your financial goals become harder to accomplish.

Larry Parman, Attorney at Law
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