Estate Planning Considerations for Unmarried Couples

It is more and more common for couples to live with each other, often long term, but never officially tie the knot. And while that is just fine if it is your own personal choice, it isn’t so fine when it comes to estate planning or to the probate court. Because although you may consider you and your significant other to be as good as married, that’s not how the law sees things when it comes to inheritances.

No Legal Status Unless you’re Married

In Florida, it doesn’t matter how long you live with someone nor does it matter that you consider or call yourself married. Absent a legal marriage, you are, legally, and when it comes to probate law, strangers.

That doesn’t mean your significant other can’t inherit and receive your assets. It just means that you’re going to have to make sure that you have an estate plan, which accounts for your significant other. Absent that, Florida intestate laws come into play, and they won’t give your non-marital significant other anything at all.

Tax Considerations

Because you aren’t married, you won’t get double the estate tax exemption. That may not bother you if you are under the estate tax limit—most people are–but the law that expanded the estate tax exemption is set to expire in 2025 and revert back to $5 million. If you’re at or near $5 million, you may want to think of how to lower the value of your estate (for example, through gifting) so as not to end up with estate taxes.

Prior Marriages

If you or your spouse are still legally married to someone else, you will need to see how Florida’s spousal laws or elective share come into play—in many cases, a legally married spouse will be entitled to 30% of someone’s estate—even if estate documents exclude the legal spouse.

Joint Ownership of Property

Because your property won’t automatically pass to your non-marital significant other the way it would if you were married, you may want to make sure that titled assets are titled in a way that they do pass to him or her.

Remember that anything that is titled as joint tenants or joint tenancy, will pass to whomever the co-owner is, automatically, and outside of probate. This can be an easy way to ensure that your significant other gets property or assets.

But if you don’t want your non-marital significant other to get those assets—say, you want them to pass to children, but you still want to protect your non-marital significant other—you can title your property as tenants in common. Your significant other will retain his or her share or interest in the assets, but yours will pass to whomever you designate in your estate plan.

Some items, you can designate to pass to someone who you are not married to automatically. Examples are bank accounts and some real estate, which may have payable on death or transfer on death accounts or deeds, allowing someone who is not a husband or wife, to get property.

Let us help you with an estate plan that works for your individual lifestyle and situation. Call the West Palm Beach estate planning lawyers at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help with your will and the rest of your estate plan.

Sources:

fiduciarytrust.com/insights/article-detail/trust-estate–tax-planning/estate-planning-for-unmarried-couples

jpmorgan.com/insights/wealth-planning/estate-planning/retirement-and-estate-planning-for-unmarried-couples