For LGBTQ families there some considerations regarding estate planning that you need to review. Depending on your relationship status, if you have kids, the state of past relationships, and changes in pronouns all can affect your estate plan. Although the 2015 Supreme Court decision established that tax treatment for married couples will be the same whether same sex or heterosexual, it doesn’t mean everything regarding your estate plan was resolved. An article from Mass Mutual’s blog highlights why LGBTQ families should establish and/or review their estate plan in their article, “Estate Planning for LGBTQ Couples”.
Married or Not – On June 26, 2015 when the Supreme Court made the monumental ruling that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Many rights were now opened to couples in the LGBTQ community. A lot of the complexity surrounding estate planning was removed. Regardless if you decided to get married and/or chose not to marry because you don’t feel they need to in order to express your commitment, there are various estate planning areas to review.
Documents – If you and your partner are married or not, there are documents you need ensure you complete. You may need a living trust and you need to appoint your partner as a co or successor trustee, because in the event you become incapacitated and unable to make decisions for yourself, you will want to ensure your partner has access to your finances to make payments and decisions. In this same vein, you will want to designate a health care proxy. This allows someone to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable. Additionally, you will want to set up a living will where you express how you want to be treated depending on the medical circumstance.
To Marry or Not – You may wonder if you should get married or not. While there are some tax benefits to marriage, if you are not married you have more control over how much of your estate you leave your partner. If you decide to get married, you may want to consider a prenuptial agreement to preserve your premarital assets.
Other Partnership Considerations – If you entered into a legal union before 2015, but haven’t updated your estate plan or you did get married, you need to make updates.
As it goes for anyone and everyone, you need to regularly review your beneficiary designations. If you have an ex-partner named, you definitely want to update this ASAP.
If you haven’t updated other estate plans since 2015, you will need to review and possibly update your beneficiary designations. Note that 401(k)’s and other employer-based retirement plans governed by the federal law called ERISA give a spouse automatic rights to these assets.
Whether you are married or not, it is essential you either review your estate plan or make an appointment with an experienced estate planning attorney to make sure that you are properly protecting yourself, your family, and your partner and that you are maximizing benefits.
Kids – If you and your partner/spouse have children, there are some specific things to review. According to Brian Thompson, who provides comprehensive financial planning for couples in the LGBTQ community, many LGBTQ families that have children have done so after extensive planning. As he mentions, many LGBTQ families choose their family structure since there are several different ways to have children: surrogacy, adoption, and fostering. No matter your relationship, if you have children, you need an estate plan, click here to review our blogs on planning tips when you have kids. Specifically, in regards to LGBTQ families where only one partner is biological parent, you will need to take extra steps to protect the rights of the non-biological parent. If the biological spouse passes away, you do not want to have to battle biological relatives for custody.
Past Relationships – You should be aware that if you had past domestic partnerships, civil unions, or other legal arrangements you will want to resolve these as soon as possible. For example, Washington automatically upgraded domestic partnerships to be the same as marriage, so there are people out there who are married who don’t know it. You will want to make sure you have resolved any past partnerships to avoid surprise claims against your estate when you pass.
Name and Pronouns – If you have transitioned or changed your name or pronouns, you need to ensure that your name and pronouns are consistent across the board. Make sure all of your legal documents are up to date. If you made any changes you will also need to update your estate plan. At Family Estate Planning Law Group, we want to ensure your estate plan always accurately reflects you. Part of our ongoing client care program means that if you do make changes regarding your pronouns or name, you will not have to pay extra to make your estate plan reflect this.
Planning for your life with your loved ones and by extension your estate plan for LGBTQ does have extra considerations, but working with an experienced estate planning attorney who supports you and is respectful of your choices is essential. This is something we are proud to say we do at Family Estate Planning Law Group. Additionally, it is essential to review your documents and make sure you are on an ongoing client care program to ensure you are always maximizing federal and state estate, gift, and income tax planning. An ongoing client care program is key to our approach at Family Estate Planning Law Group, another thing we are proud of.
To learn more about how we can help your family and establish an estate plan that best benefits you, contact us today to schedule your complimentary consultation!
We look forward to taking care of you and your family and ensuring you have peace of mind.