First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes estate planning.

Between booking a venue, finding a dress, and planning the honeymoon the last thing on your mind is estate planning. Why would you plan for the demise of a relationship before it has even begun?

We hate to be the rain on your… wedding day, but life happens.

Here are four estate planning essentials for newly weds:

1. Designate a beneficiary:Couples need to change the beneficiary designation of their retirement accounts to their spouse. It is undoubtedly better to have the beneficiary designations accurately reflect the spouse so that there are no delays or issues in having the benefits paid.

2. Create a will:Without a will, state law decides who gets what assets and how much. Not all laws leave 100% of property to the spouse. We suggest meeting with an estate-planning attorney to help execute a basic will.

3. Appoint a Power of Attorney: In an event of incapacity, where your spouse is unable to make medical, legal and financial decisions, it is important to designate a power of attorney. This will provide them with the ability to make decisions for one another. It is also important to name an alternate person in the event of an accident where both parties are injured. In fact, most young couples travel together, increasing the possibility of an accident involving both parties.

4. Home Ownership Documents:To avoid probate and add creditor protection, it is very beneficial to have the home ownership as a joint property rather than being owned by only one of the newly weds.  Married couples should consider Tenants by Entireties form of ownership (TBE). TBE property can protect both parties from an individual spouse’s creditors. For example, if one spouse injures a third party in a car accident, the injured party will not be able to take the TBE account into a lawsuit.

So before you start hearing wedding bells, you need to hear Michael Wild explain all the ways to protect your property and assets. To learn more about estate planning, probate and asset protection, visit our website at www.wfplaw.com

When Relationships End…

Over the Fourth of July weekend we found out that it’s over for Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian.  Kardashian, 36, and Disick, 32, shared nine years and three children together despite the fact that their relationship was frequently strained by Disick’s drinking problem, partying ways, and his regular stays in rehab including one earlier this year. I bet we all saw that one coming!

The early stages of a romantic relationship and marriage are usually of joy and happiness.  When a couple gets married there is little time to contemplate the possibility that maybe someday the relationship may fail, but it can! (Just ask Kourtney Kardashian). Nobody likes to think about that possibility and for the most part, couples trust each other with everything including their assets, even when those assets that are non-marital, that is, the spouse owned the asset before entering into the marriage.  The act of mixing non-marital and marital assets (like joint accounts or transferring title of solely-owned property to the marriage) is called “co-mingling”.

The problem that arises when one co-mingles marital with non-marital assets is that in the event that the relationship does fail, equitable distribution may be required and this may mean that a person who did not intend to give up ownership of non-marital assets may end up losing half of their interest in them because he or she failed to keep them separate.  Don’t make this rookie mistake!

Failing to keep non-marital assets free from mixing with marital assets creates a presumption that a gift was intended to the other spouse and the burden is on the person that co-mingled non-marital funds to overcome this presumption.  Establishing a trust and transferring to it assets that are non-marital, is a great way to keep them protected from the reach of an ex-spouse and by managing it in such a way that marital assets are never transferred into the trust. A Prenuptial Agreement is another commonly used and effective method to protect non-marital assets.

There are other alternatives to ensure that your non-marital (and marital) wealth is protected, but you must seek legal counsel to make sure you can take advantage of all the options available to you. Our firm specializes in wealth and asset protection and can help by providing you with more detailed information and tailored strategies to meet your individual needs.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected? SM

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

Last week, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage a constitutional right.  That means that no state can unilaterally deny same-sex couples the right to marry. In a previous decision the Supreme Court gave DOMA [“Defense of Marriage Act”] the boot, holding that its definition of marriage (limited to a union between one man & one woman) violates the guarantee of equal protection provided by the Fifth Amendment. Keep in mind, this only applied on a Federal level, and States could still refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. The most recent case, Obergefell v. Hodges, which was decided last week, extends this protection to same-sex couples under the fourteenth amendment which applies at the state and local levels of government. Here in South Florida, same-sex marriage was recognized only recently.

Same-sex couples now enjoy the benefit of holding property as tenancy by the entirety, which is a benefit Reserved for married couples; each spouse owns 100% of the property.  One spouse cannot transfer it without the agreement of the other.  Any bank account, for example, in the name of 2 married persons is considered to be held as tenancy by the entirety unless otherwise specified in writing.  Also, any creditor of one spouse alone can’t go after any asset held by the entirety to satisfy a debt.

Another benefit that is now available to same-sex couples is the elective share option, which means that if a spouse is cut out of the will, he or she can exercise the elective share, which entitles the person to 30% of the estate regardless of whether the decedent included the person in the will.

401K funds can now be transferred upon death to a same-sex spouse, which was not possible before, if the state did not allow same-sex marriage.  The Supreme Court Decision now extends the homestead protection to same-sex couples as well, that is, the surviving spouse automatically receives at least a life estate interest in the property of the decedent spouse (the surviving spouse can automatically live in the marital home for the rest of his or her life), which was not possible before in a state that did not provide for same-sex marriage.

While these are certainly great estate planning features for same-sex couples, you don’t want to always rely on automaticity. Rather, you should plan for the future of your spouse and children if you have them, as there is a vast array of estate planning techniques that will ensure your receive all of the benefits of the law.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection, contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at mwild@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM