The financial and legal impact of being married is significant. There are 1,138 identified federal statutes in which marital status is a factor in receiving federal benefits, rights and privileges. While it is absolutely advisable for married people or those with children to work with a wills and trusts lawyer, it is just as important for single adults. If you were to suddenly become incapacitated, who would make your medical decisions for you? Who would continue to pay your mortgage or file your taxes? If you haven’t worked with an estate planning attorney, the answer to this question becomes quite complicated. Possibly your parents would be called in to determine how your medical care should proceed. However, if hostilities among family exists, planning ahead ensures your wishes are followed. Even if your parent or sibling would be your first choice, that doesn’t mean that the courts would agree without having your express wishes legally documented.

If you prepared estate planning documents prior to marriage equality, the firm you executed them with understood the unique needs of LGBT individuals and likely drafted your documents in light that you were not married. Married couples have always enjoyed impactful and robust privileges and benefits in estate planning and, as such, your “pre-marriage equality” estate plan needs an overhaul. If nothing else, I recommend re-executing your estate planning documents so that the definition used in the documents reflects your legal relationship—spouse, husband/husband or wife/wife. And for those with more complicated needs, you should review what new benefits are available to you and take advantage of them.

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