The 3 Most Critical Estate Planning Tools For Married Couples

An episode of the The Josh Scandlen Podcast podcast, hosted by Josh Scandlen, titled "The 3 Most Critical Estate Planning Tools For Married Couples" was published on February 28, 2019 and runs 18 minutes.

February 28, 2019 ·18m · The Josh Scandlen Podcast

Summary

Estate planning may seem a complex topic. &nbsp;In some ways, it truly is. &nbsp;However, if you are married, especially if you have children, you need to make sure you have the following estate planning tools in order and up-to-date: 1.guardianship 2. durable power of attorney 3. beneficiary designations In this video, we talk about why you need these three items.&nbsp; First, what happens to your minor kids if you and your spouse are killed? &nbsp;Do you know? Well, unless you have stated explicitly in your Will, the law determines who becomes guardian of your kids. &nbsp; Will it be your mother who lives 2000 miles away and is dating a man you aren't fond of? Maybe your parents are deceased. Will it be a brother who you know has a gambling problem but few other people know about? The judge who will decide guardianship only has one task and that is to try to keep your children together in the safest home possible.&nbsp; The courts don't have time to deeply investigate every, single circumstance that could affect your kids. &nbsp;There are a million other cases they have to clear, many with kids who have NO family at all in which to live with. So, &nbsp;unless you state in your legal documents, what you want to happen to your children, the judge will do it for you, with as minimal effort as the courts need to put in.&nbsp; Next, the bulk of most people's liquid assets are in retirement accounts. A retirement account is an INDIVIDUALLY-OWNED account, meaning there are no joint-owned retirement accounts.&nbsp; So, say your wife has been working while you stayed home to raise the kids. &nbsp;She has accumulated a rather large 401k. But unfortunately, one day on the way from work, she's in a nasty car accident and is hospitalized for an extended period of time.&nbsp; After her short-term disability stops there is NO money coming in. &nbsp;So, you need to tap into her 401k in order to get cash out to pay the bills.&nbsp; How do you do that? Her 401k is in her name only. So, when you call the provider they are going to need to speak with her unless you have legal documentation that they APPROVE of allowing you to act on her behalf. &nbsp; This legal document is called a DURABLE Power of Attorney. It is a Power of Attorney that survives incapacity.&nbsp; If you don't have a legal document allowing you access to your wife's accounts, no financial institution is going to give you access, regardless of if you're the spouse and named as beneficiary.&nbsp; Doesn't matter. You have NO legal right to her money.&nbsp; So, in your Will, you'll want to get a Durable Power of Attorney. (As always - seek legal guidance by a PROFESSIONAL ESTATE ATTORNEY, as every situation is different. &nbsp;And you need to make sure you have legal advice based on YOUR needs, not just some boilerplate information. If you need recommendations for estate planning attorneys, just let me know) Lastly, if you died today, who gets your life insurance, your IRAs, &nbsp;your 401ks, etc.? &nbsp;&nbsp;Do you know? Is a spouse from a previous marriage still named as beneficiary? Maybe you named your older sister before you got married but haven't updated it to your now wife?&nbsp; Maybe, in a hurry, or due to ignorance, you just named your "estate" as beneficiary? Maybe there is NO beneficiary's named?&nbsp; Tons of cases where a deceased forgot to update his/her beneficiary designation and thus the account transferred to an unsuspecting ex who chose not to share with the current spouse. <p

Episode Description