It is important for newlyweds to have wills drafted for several reasons. First, most of the property that you each own is going to be separately owned in the beginning. Under the laws of North Carolina, if you pass away without a will, your surviving spouse is not always entitled to 100% of your property. If you want to guarantee that your spouse is going to inherit everything, you’re going to need a will. Also, for singularly-owned property, your spouse will not be able to handle your affairs in the event of your unavailability or incapacity without a durable power of attorney, and an estate planning attorney can assist you with that as well.
Once married couples start consolidating bank accounts or buying real estate together, this is less of a concern. For jointly owned property, when one person passes, the other person automatically owns the property without there being any need for a will. Secondly, some important clauses included in a will can ease the burden on your spouse in the event you do pass away. For example, you can draft a will that waives the bond requirement. That is a huge burden lifted – your spouse will not have to pass a credit check and pay a bond premium to administer your estate. Your will can include provisions allowing your spouse to sell your property without court approval; again, your spouse will benefit from not having to pay an attorney to get a court order. Third, if you are blending families, the only way to leave property to someone not related by blood or a step-child is to gift it to them in a will. Another benefit to seeing an attorney to discuss your estate plan after you’ve recently been married is to ensure that your beneficiary designations are all up to date. You’ll want to change your beneficiary on life insurance policies and retirement plans, for example, to your new spouse. Finally, a discussion with an attorney about probate and the benefit to owning joint property cannot be understated if you’re bringing a lot of debt into the relationship. While your spouse is not responsible for your student loan debt, for example, your estate will be – there may need to be some planning involved to pass along property to your spouse instead of your creditors. You may also be able to plan your estate so that probate could be avoided entirely! If you’re newly married and want to ensure your spouse is protected in the future, the attorneys at Jesson & Rains can help you.
1 Comment
If I had to pick one thing that is a “hot topic” right now in the estate planning field is “digital assets.” Digital assets are anything involving the internet or mobile devices, including family photos on an iPad, e-mail accounts, and social media accounts.
Did you know that some social media and e-mail providers value and protect privacy so much that they will not allow a family member or executor of an estate to access the deceased person’s social media account or email account? The law historically responds much slower than technology grows. Thirty years after the creation of the “world wide web,” states are starting to pass digital asset laws that treat digital assets like tangible personal property that can be passed on to others or, at the very least, settled and administered by an executor. North Carolina recently passed one such law. However, it remains to be seen how well social media and email providers respond to the law. In the meantime, here is what you can do to ensure that you have control over what happens with your social medial and email accounts. I have picked Facebook and Gmail because they are the largest providers in their respective platforms. However, almost all social media and email providers have something similar as listed below.
A few weeks ago, viewers across North Carolina were shocked when they saw a story on the news about a mother, Rae Stone, and her son, Forrest. Forrest had just turned 18 when he was involved in a snowboarding accident that left him in a coma. The Virginia hospital treating Forrest would not allow his mother to make medical decisions on his behalf or access his medical information due to HIPAA. According to the news story, the doctors at the hospital were the ones who were deemed to be the decision makers.
Clients in North Carolina want to know: Would this happen in North Carolina? The answer is maybe. In North Carolina, the following people, in this order, are authorized to consent to medical treatment on behalf of an incapacitated patient: (1) A health care agent appointed pursuant to a valid health care power of attorney[1] (unless the court has appointed a guardian and suspended the health care agent’s power); (2) A court-appointed guardian; (3) An attorney-in-fact, with powers to make health care decisions for the patient;[2] (4) The patient's spouse; (5) A majority of the patient's reasonably available parents and children who are at least 18 years of age; (6) A majority of the patient's reasonably available siblings who are at least 18 years of age; or (7) An individual who has an established relationship with the patient, who is acting in good faith on behalf of the patient, and who can reliably convey the patient's wishes. (8) The patient's attending physician.[3] Therefore, if a power of attorney or guardianship does not exist, in the event your unmarried child is incapacitated, you should be able to consent to their medical treatment in North Carolina. If you are married, you should be able to consent to your spouse’s treatment if they become incapacitated. Given the North Carolina statute, is there any reason why I should fill out a health care directive or appoint my loved one as my power of attorney? Yes.
[1] Power of attorney for the sole purpose of making medical decisions on your behalf, or a health care agent named in your advanced health care directive (which outlines your wishes in the event you become incapacitated).. [2] Power of attorney over health care decisions (as you appoint). [3] N.C.G. S. § 90-21.13. |
Subscribe to our newsletter.AuthorKelly Rains Jesson Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|