5 Estate Planning Tips for Unmarried Couples.

Even with the recent federal court ruling mandating Florida county court clerks to issue marriage certificates to same-sex coulpes (link here), there are still only 22% of the people in Florida living in so-called  “traditional family households.” In fact, in the US as a whole, there are approximately 5.5 million ‘unmarried partner’ households.

Are you and your West Palm Beach partner unmarried?  Would you like to begin planning your estate in Fort Lauderdale but are without a marriage license?

You may encounter some unique problems in planning your estate:

• Florida inheritance laws will typically not apply to unmarried couples.
• This means that you and your Pompano Beach sweetheart will not be entitled to the samemarital estate tax deductions in Florida as your “lawfully married” friends in Boca Raton.
• Similarly, and maybe more importantly, unmarried partners are typically not afforded decision-making authority in Florida if one were to pass or become incapacitated.

Because the client cannot rely on any default inheritance laws in Florida in favor of a spouse, critical attention to detail is necessary in order to overcome all of the contingencies and ensure that each partner’s Florida estate planning goals are met.

5 tips for planning your estate with your unmarried partner:

1. Have your Lake Worth Probate Litigation Attorney draft “Advance Directives“, such asLiving Wills, Health Care Surrogates, and Durable Powers of Attorney in Florida. Without these documents, family members can block access to a sick partner, make health decisions without consent of the partner, and even make funeral and burial arrangements without the consent or input of the partner.  
2. Prepare your Florida estate plan EARLY, update often, and make sure your Will and/or Trust is current and updated according to Florida probate/trust code.  This will ensure your estate plan is up-to-date with modern Florida estate planning law.
3. Consider preparing a “cohabiting agreement.” This document details each partner’s intentions, much like a Florida prenuptial agreement.
4. Be cognizant of how real property is titled in Florida, since assets held in joint tenancy will go to the joint owner and not in accordance with a Will.
5. If your estate is significantly valuable, make sure that both partners have considered life insurance or other tools to reduce and/or avoid Florida Estate Taxes. (See link here.)

Have you had experience with estate planning for unmarried couples?  If so, leave a comment down below!

See http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/ for videos and information on Wills in Florida, Florida Probate Law, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration in Florida.