Summer Weddings and Estate Planning: What Newlyweds Need to Know

Summer is a popular time for weddings, with many couples choosing to tie the knot during the warmer months. While wedding planning can feel like a full-time job, it's important for newlyweds to also consider their estate planning needs. Starting married life with a clear and comprehensive estate plan can provide peace of mind and ensure that both partners are protected. Here's what newlyweds need to know about estate planning.

Why Estate Planning is Crucial for Newlyweds

Estate planning is not just for the wealthy; it's essential for anyone who wants to ensure their wishes are followed and their loved ones are taken care of. For newlyweds, it’s a way to legally formalize decisions about property, finances, and healthcare. Here are some key reasons why estate planning should be a priority:

1. Protecting Each Other: If one spouse passes away without a Will, Massachusetts law will determine how assets are distributed, which might not align with your wishes. These are known as Massachusetts Intestacy Laws, which you can read more about here. While many newlyweds assume that if a misfortune were to happen, that everything would automatically be transferred to their new spouse, this is not always the case. An estate plan ensures that your spouse inherits what you intend for them to receive.
2. Blending Finances: Marriage often involves combining financial resources and responsibilities. An estate plan can help manage these changes effectively. It is also important to consult an experienced estate planning attorney, such as those at Lane, Lane & Kelly, to discuss other strategies such as naming beneficiaries and using pay-on-death designations for all bank accounts.
3. Healthcare Decisions: In the event of a medical emergency, having healthcare proxies and durable powers of attorney in place allows each spouse to make medical and financial decisions on behalf of the other. While nobody enjoys planning for catastrophe, having the proper healthcare documents in place before your wedding, or more importantly before a honeymoon where you may be in a different country, is essential to guaranteeing that you and your spouse can legally make these decisions for one another should one become incapacitated.
4. Future Planning: Estate planning is also about planning for the future, including potential children and long-term financial goals. Many new spouses already go through formalized planning before tying the knot such as Pre-Cana and other financial responsibility courses. Using this time to also consider estate planning goals and consulting with an attorney to put a plan together ensures you have peace of mind well beyond your big day.

Essential Estate Planning Steps for Newlyweds

1. Update or Execute Your Will: If you had a Will before marriage, update it to reflect your new marital status and include your spouse. If you don't have a Will, now is the time to create one. Many newlyweds are surprised to find out that if a Will is not in place that specifies how your estate will be distributed, your assets can be left to your siblings or even your parents in certain circumstances. Using a Will and/or a Trust guarantees that your assets are left to the exact people you choose as beneficiaries. Whether that be your new spouse, family members, or even friends or charitable organizations.
2. Establish Trusts: Trusts can be an effective way to manage and distribute your assets. They can provide for your spouse, manage wealth, and avoid probate which maintains your privacy. If you already have a trust in place, it is important to add your spouse as a Trustee, a beneficiary, or both. For more information on the different parties in your estate plan, read more here.
3. Name Beneficiaries: Review and update beneficiary designations on life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other financial assets. If you and your soon-to-be spouse have separate bank accounts, consider creating a joint bank account which creates automatic rights of survivorship. If you keep your accounts, separate, all bank accounts (checking, savings, brokerage, retirement, etc.) allow you to designate a pay-on-death beneficiary so the transfer occurs immediately following your death without the need for probate.
4. Set Up Powers of Attorney: Designate your spouse as your healthcare proxy and durable power of attorney to make medical and financial decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated and are unable to make your own informed decisions.
5. Review Property Ownership: If you own property, consider how it's titled. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship allows the property to pass directly to your spouse without going through probate. In Massachusetts, tenancy by the entirety is a form of joint ownership that is only available to married couples. If you or your spouse owns property, it is important to work with an estate planning attorney to update the deed to your property to reflect both you and your spouse as tenants by the entirety. For more information on the different ways to hold title to real estate in Massachusetts, you can read more here.

Special Considerations for Blended Families

If either spouse has children from a previous relationship, estate planning becomes even more critical. You must clearly outline how assets should be distributed among your current spouse and children to avoid conflicts and ensure everyone is provided for according to your wishes. It is especially important to consult with an attorney when determining who you plan to leave your assets to. What many newlyweds entering into a second or third marriage do not know is that they cannot fully disinherit their new spouse once married. In Massachusetts, a surviving spouse can claim a fixed portion of the decedent’s estate (referred to as an elective share), and in so doing, circumvent the decedent’s wishes. For a full overview of the elective share, you can read our legal blog post here. With proper guidance from our attorneys, you can use different types of trusts to provide for both your spouse and your children in accordance with your wishes, that is not accompanied with any unforeseen legal implications.

Planning for the Worst and Understanding Massachusetts Property Division

While it is difficult for many to think about the possibility of the end before you have even begun, many couples, especially those entering into second or third marriages, prefer to have an antenuptial agreement (also referred to as a prenuptial or premarital agreement) finalized before their big day. These agreements are legal contracts that specify both party’s rights when it comes to things like property rights, finances, Wills and estate plans, inheritance, children visitation, alimony, etc. To be legally enforceable, prenuptial agreements must

• Satisfy basic contract principles, such as an offer, consideration, and acceptance.
• The agreement must be in writing and satisfy the Statute of Frauds
• Both parties are entitled to seek independent legal representation
• Financial Disclosures to inform both parties that they are giving up certain rights
• And lastly the agreement must be fair and reasonable

It is also important to note the timing aspect as to when a prenuptial agreement is signed. Massachusetts, unlike some other states, has no outright law as to how far in advance a premarital agreement must be signed before the actual wedding occurs. This differs from states such as California that have a specific statute requiring a prenuptial agreement be signed at least seven (7) days before the wedding, or else it is unenforceable. Massachusetts, like most states without a statute, typically follow this one-week rule, with most family law attorneys encouraging both parties to have their prenuptials signed anywhere from one week to a full month before the wedding. This is to ensure both parties have enough time to thoroughly review the terms of the agreement, negotiate those terms if needed, seek independent legal counsel, and make any necessary changes. Signing a prenup too close to the day of your wedding can make a Court suspicious that one party was pressured into signing the agreement, making it unenforceable based on the grounds of either duress or undue influence.

The other consideration for newlyweds is how Massachusetts divides property should you and your partner get divorced down the road. There are three types of property division across the United States which are outlined below:

• Community Property Jurisdictions: Here, all property acquired during the marriage is considered by the Court to be one-half owned by each spouse. This creates a clear 50/50 split of all marital assets. All property owned or acquired before the marriage is considered separate property and is not included during the property division process. Only 9 states in the United States are community property states.
• Equitable Division of Marital Property: This is the majority rule in the United States where Court’s divide only the marital property (any property acquired during the marriage) on an equitable basis. Equitable division does not necessarily mean a 50/50 split, and a Judge will divide marital property based primarily on fairness, and a number of other factors (age and health of each spouse, length of the marriage, each party’s need for income, just to name a few) where the end result does not necessarily mean an equal split.
• Equitable Division of All Property: Massachusetts follows a minority rule where property owned by either spouse, whether acquired before or after the marriage, is subject to equitable distribution. This means that Massachusetts is a true “what’s yours is mine” state. Where a $5-million-dollar inheritance that you received when you were 5 years old will now be deemed an asset that is subject to property division in your divorce (or at least whatever is left of it). That said, the same factors mentioned above will be used to determine a fair and equitable split that may not result in a 50/50 breakdown.

Since Massachusetts equitably divides all property owned by each spouse and not just marital property, this is why prenuptial agreements for residents domiciled in Massachusetts is far more common compared to other states that don’t follow the same law.

The Importance of Professional Guidance

Estate planning can be complex, and every couple’s situation is unique. Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney such as those at Lane, Lane & Kelly in Braintree, Massachusetts can help ensure that all legal requirements are met and that your plan reflects your specific needs and goals. The experienced and knowledgeable attorneys at Lane, Lane & Kelly have been helping newlyweds, individuals, and families across the South Shore of Massachusetts navigate the complexities of estate planning and Masssachusetts law since 1938.

Starting your marriage with a comprehensive estate plan is a gift to yourselves and your future family. It provides clarity, reduces potential conflicts, and ensures that your wishes are honored. As you enjoy your new life together, take the time to protect what matters most by putting a solid estate plan in place.

For more information on estate planning and to schedule a consultation, contact Lane, Lane & Kelly. We’re here to help you secure your future and protect your loved ones.

This blog is made available for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By reading this blog you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Lane, Lane & Kelly, LLP.