14 Feb Estate Planning for Couples

Are you celebrating this Valentine’s Day with that one person who you want to spend the rest of your life with? There are several steps that couples need to take in order to protect each other in the future. These steps will be slightly different, depending on whether they are legally married or not. We’ve shared estate planning tips for both married and unmarried couples in previous articles—here are some of the highlights.

Estate Planning for Married Couples

At some point, every couple needs to have that difficult conversation—what’s going to happen if one of us dies? In most cases, married spouses in Arizona will automatically inherit ownership of any assets acquired during the marriage. However, this does not apply to assets acquired before the marriage, or to gifts and inheritances that only one spouse received. You’ll need to get together to list your assets and decide on things like giving each other power of attorney or appointing a legal guardian for your children. 

Married couples should take these basic estate planning steps: 

1. Set up a living trust, and fund it with key assets. This way, your property will avoid probate, and you also get more control over who inherits, and when.
2. Write your wills and designate legal guardians for any minor children. This is especially important if you have stepchildren or a blended family.
3. Update your beneficiary designations for your life insurance policies, retirement plans, and bank accounts.
4. Consider naming your spouse as your power of attorney agent. If you are ever incapacitated by a stroke or illness, this will give your spouse legal permission to handle your financial affairs or make medical decisions, according to your wishes.

Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples

In Arizona, surviving spouses automatically inherit their partner’s share of any joint property. However, the law does not recognize unmarried partners. Without an estate plan in place, if one partner dies, their assets will go to a blood relative (usually their parents or children) but not to their partner. So if you are not married, but you would like to leave your house to your partner, or make sure they have access to your share of the joint bank account, here are the steps you need to take.

1. Set up a living trust that names your partner as its beneficiary.
2. Write a will that states your intentions and names your trust as your main beneficiary. 
3. If you have children, you can use your will to name your partner as their legal guardian.
4. Designate beneficiaries for your bank accounts, life insurance policy, 401k, etc. This simple step will keep these assets out of probate, and your partner won’t have to wait for the court’s approval. 
5. Place titled assets like real estate and vehicles in joint tenancy, or fill out a “Transfer-on-Death” form. 

Protect the One You Love the Most: Schedule a Consultation Today

Estate planning can be a difficult topic to broach with your partner, but the sooner you make these important decisions, the better. Talking with an estate planning attorney can help! The team at Phelps LaClair is here to answer all of your questions and to offer personalized advice based on your wishes and your financial situation. If you’re a couple in a committed relationship, contact us to schedule a free estate planning consultation today.

Photo by Jemma Pollari on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 2/14/25.