Whether you’ve already tied the knot or have no intention of moving forward with marriage, estate planning is necessary. Parts of your life may already be intertwined and the law and various strategies can be used to help protect you and your loved ones in the future.

There are five primary considerations for couples who want to achieve as much as possible with their estate planning. Combining finances back when you are married may seem complicated even then but looking ahead to your future with regard to retirement and joint estate planning goals is equally important. In fact, it’s never too soon to start thing about estate planning as a couple.

Whether or not your relationship is recognized by law in terms of marriage or whether or not there are children involved or you have few assets, estate planning helps you control what will happen in the future. Estate planning is important for every couple including those that are married and unmarried.

The major things to consider include:

  •   Any distinctions between religious or civil marriage.
  •   The jurisdiction of domicile as well as the jurisdiction of marriage.
  •   The length of the relationship because in some states this may determine the distribution of assets in a divorce or death.
  •   Any children included in the marriage or those brought in as step children.
  •   Citizenship.

After you’ve looked at these five key areas, it’s time to sit down with an experienced estate planning attorney and figure out how these strategies can be used to help you accomplish your goals.

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