Many elder Americans prefer to just live together, rather than deal with some issues.
Today, rather than getting married, many elderly people are just moving in together and foregoing a marriage certificate, according to The New York Times in “More Older Couples Are ‘Shacking Up’.”
Getting remarried later in life has created many issues for estate planning and the families of the people who do get remarried. As a result, many people just move in together.
While this might solve some problems, such as getting around the laws of intestate and spousal election to make sure that any assets go to the children and remain in the family, it does not solve all of the problems. Instead, it creates a different set of problems that need to be worked through in an estate plan.
If two elderly people are living together, it becomes important to create estate plans that do not leave one of them in a bad position when the other passes away.
You do not want to create a situation where a partner is unable to afford the rent after you pass away or is kicked out of the property you own by your heirs.
An estate planning attorney can help guide you into creating an estate plan that meets your unique circumstances and prevents little problems from becoming big problems.
Reference: New York Times (May 8, 2017) “More Older Couples Are ‘Shacking Up’.”
