Proving for Your Unmarried Domestic Partner in Your Estate Plan
People who get up early every Saturday morning and start doing housework, who file their income taxes in the first week of February, in short, people who never procrastinate still regard estate planning with trepidation. No one wants to think about how much or how little their relatives will miss them after the thinker of this thought dies. The motivation to start working on one’s estate plan is fear of the worst-case scenario, so your inertia is all the more understandable if the worst-case scenario in your case is not so bad. For example, your spouse and children are next in line to inherit your property; if they were going to be the beneficiaries of your will, it makes sense why the thought of dying without a will does not terrify you. The strongest motivation to build your estate plan is that someone you love might bear a financial and emotional burden in caring for you in your old age or might be deprived of your property after you die. In other words, unmarried couples cannot effort not to build an estate plan, because the laws of intestate succession shortchange unmarried domestic partners. If you plan to spend the rest of your life with your partner, but not to get legally married, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.
The Laws of Intestate Succession Leave Unmarried Domestic Partners in the Lurch
When someone dies without a will, the probate court distributes the decedent’s property according to the laws of intestate succession. If the decedent has a surviving spouse, the spouse is the first to inherit. If the decedent is widowed, his or her children inherit the estate. For decedents who did not marry or have children, the estate passes to other close relatives such as siblings or nieces and nephews.
Beyond this, surviving spouses get pride of place in probate court. If the decedent leaves a will where the spouse gets little or nothing, the spouse can claim an elective share of the state, thereby partially overriding the will.
A Legally Valid Will Can Help You Provide for Your Partner
The laws of intestate succession assume a hierarchy of relatives entitled to inherit from the decedent, but unmarried domestic partners are nowhere on the list. One of the strongest motivations to write a will is to ensure that some or all of your property goes to people who are not related to you by blood or marriage.
Writing a will is a must if you want your unmarried partner to inherit from you, but there are also other ways to ensure that your property passes to your partner after you die. For example, you can own your house or other assets jointly with your partner and assign your partner the right of survivorship. You can also establish a trust with your partner as a beneficiary.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney
A probate lawyer can help you build an estate plan that ensures financial stability for your unmarried domestic partner. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.
Source:
clearestate.com/en-us/blog/new-york-probate-guide