Your wedding is a time of bliss and endless possibilities for a bright future together. While planning for your perfect day, don’t forget to protect those you love, as you start your new life together.
Marriage is the right time to ensure your estate documents are in order. As you prepare for your future, take the time to meet with your estate attorney. Putting into place your vital documents like Wills, powers-of-attorneys, and health care directives will help provide you with the peace of mind that you will need for your perfect day.
A Will is an essential document that provides many safeguards for your new life together. In a Will, we assure that our assets will be distributed as we desire. We can also protect our loved ones with trusts for young children or those with a disability. A Will can also provide for charitable distributions, make arrangements for pets, and appoint an executor. A durable financial power of attorney names another trusted person, for example, a spouse, to handle financial matters in the event of an accident or disability. A healthcare directive can guide those who might make medical care decisions for us. Trust planning for those who depend upon us should be considered at this time.
Attention should also be given to beneficiary designations on assets, such as 401ks and IRAs, to match the new relationships in your life. Such retirement accounts have special tax status and allow you to defer the taxation on income until far in the future, allowing the funds to accrue without tax loss. Your retirement accounts MUST name your spouse as a beneficiary unless the spouse signs a waiver. Now is the time to ensure that you have correctly identified the beneficiaries of your accounts. Your employer’s HR department or your financial advisor can be of help to you with these changes.
This is also the perfect time to talk about life insurance. Having a policy in place can provide financial protection for our family in the future and can play a key role in assuring that loved ones are cared for. Now is also the time to discuss whether a prenuptial agreement will provide you the protection you need for your new life together.
The title to real property, such as your home, should be reviewed at this time to determine that the names on the deed are correct and that the title is shared between spouses as they desire. Also, many spouses take the time to discuss a prenuptial agreement before marriage, to ensure that you and your spouse are in accord on how your assets will be managed in the future.
At CGA Law Firm, our estate law attorneys have the experience and knowledge to help you make this day perfect in every way. Call on us to provide you with the peace of mind you need for your wedding and for your future together.
Timothy J. Bupp
Estate Law Chair | Shareholder | Attorney
Timothy J. Bupp is a Shareholder with CGA Law Firm and chairs the Firm’s Estate Law Section. He provides clients with specialized advice in Estate Planning, Business and tax planning, Real Estate transactions and related matters. Tim assists his clients by utilizing the knowledge he gained from his advanced degrees in business administration, business taxation, and law, as well as his certifications in estate planning and employee benefits taxation. He counsels individuals and businesses with estate and wealth transfer planning, business succession planning, entity formation or acquisition, and tax planning.
Attorney Bupp has earned the designation of Certified Elder Law Attorney from the National Elder Law Foundation, the only ABA-approved Elder Law certification approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Read Tim’s Bio Page in full HERE.
