Women's Estate Planning: How to Prepare for Your Future

Women often take on the role of caregiver and provider in addition to holding down a job or running a business. Women tend to have smaller inheritances than men and are also more likely to experience financial hardship as they get older. To protect your assets and provide for your future, you may want to consider estate planning. 

Whether you’re single or married, with children, without children, or somewhere in between, having a solid estate plan can help you achieve your goals when it comes to money and legacy. This article covers the basics of estate planning for women—from trusts and wills to healthcare directives and beneficiary designations.

What Is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the process of organizing and managing your assets to meet your needs and goals. With proper planning, you can make sure that your wishes are carried out after you die or become unable to handle your affairs. Estate planning can also help you reduce taxes, manage risk, and transfer assets to your beneficiaries as efficiently as possible. Many people think of estate planning as just wills and trusts, but there are a number of different tools that can help you plan your assets.

Why Do Women Need to Plan Their Estates?

Most people don’t start thinking about estate planning until they’ve been diagnosed with a terminal disease or suffered a debilitating injury. This can be too late—especially if you’re single and don’t have a partner to help take care of you. 

If you’re not prepared, you could put your family in a very difficult situation as they try to figure out how to care for you and manage your financial assets. If you have a family, it’s important to make sure that you have a plan in place to ensure their financial security and make sure that you meet their needs. 

Wills and Advance Care Planning

A will is a legal document that details how you want your assets distributed after you pass away. This can be an important part of estate planning for women, as women often outlive their husbands by many years. Without a will, your state of residence will determine how your assets are distributed, often to your spouse and any minor children.

If you don’t have a will, your assets may go to the state. This means that your assets will go towards public programs and services rather than your loved ones. Deciding whom to leave your assets to is often a difficult decision. 

Trusts

A trust can provide asset protection for your children and spouse, as well as allow you to designate who will care for you as you age or become disabled. A trust can also help you avoid probate, which is the court process that happens when you die and your assets need to be distributed. 

Trusts can be created with a will or exist independent of a will. If you do select a testamentary trust, make sure that your will reflects your wishes regarding the trust or your assets may not be distributed as you intended. 

Simple trusts are often used by parents who want to leave assets to their children but don’t want those assets to be subject to the cost of probate when the parents die. If you have a large estate and want to protect your assets from creditors or future medical expenses, a complex trust may be right for you. Consult with an attorney to find out if a trust is right for you.


Co-Ownership Options: Living Together and Joint Tenancy Agreements

Living together can protect both parties in relation to assets and debts. Joint tenancy agreements allow you and your partner to share ownership of assets and debts. If one of you dies, the other person automatically receives full ownership of the assets. This can be useful for couples with minor children, as it allows a surviving parent to easily access and control assets that are in their child’s name. 

Joint tenancy can also be useful for couples who live in a state that recognizes domestic partnerships or civil unions. Joint tenancy is not the same as a joint property deed. A joint property deed simply allows you to title your assets as “joint tenants with right of survivorship” without any legal agreement. 

This means that both parties have access to the property and owe the full amount of the underlying debt. A joint tenancy agreement gives each party the right to make decisions about the property and protects each other if one party becomes disabled or dies.

Irrevocable Trusts and Asset Protection

Generally, if someone sues you, they can take whatever assets you have. This is a risk we all take with ownership and is part of the reason that having a will is important. An irrevocable trust can protect your assets from a variety of people, including family members and creditors. An irrevocable trust is created and funded by the person who wants to protect their assets. 

The person cannot withdraw their assets out of the trust, even if they need the money. If you have a significant amount of assets and creditors, an irrevocable trust can protect you from having your assets taken. 

You can also use trusts to help meet your family’s needs while protecting your assets. For example, a special needs trust is designed to help meet the needs of your disabled child while protecting your assets and securing Medicaid funding.

Conclusion

Estate planning is a process that can start at any age. It includes deciding what you want your assets to go to and finding the best ways to make that happen. The process of estate planning is about more than just having a will or a trust; it’s about creating a plan for how your assets will be protected, distributed, and controlled after you are gone. 

It also involves setting up reliable beneficiary designations for your insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other investments. If you want to be sure that your loved ones are taken care of, and your assets are protected, you need to start thinking about estate planning now. The more time you have to prepare, the better your plan will be.

Contact Doane & Doane for Women’s Estate Planning

Doane & Doane is a top-rated law firm specializing in estate planning for women. We understand the unique challenges that women face when it comes to financial security, and we can help you create a comprehensive plan that meets your specific needs. Call us today at (561) 656-0200 to schedule a free consultation.

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not decide whether to contact a lawyer based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.