Estate planning allows you to pass your assets to who you want, when you want and how you want. Estate Planning often consists of living or revocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney and advance directives. It provides planning in the event of incapacity, and allows you to customize the way your estate will be passed on after your death.
The most common danger in planning for the LGBT community is failing to plan altogether. Many people pass away without having any type of plan in place, but California has made provisions for this, and has a default set of rules in place. If you pass away without a will or a living trust, the probate courts will pass your assets according to the intestacy rules in California that define your heirs for you. If the people you want to inherit your assets do not follow this traditional line, you need to document your alternate wishes in writing. Without this, you could end up leaving assets to someone that you have had no contact with in years, and excluding someone because you did not have a legal relationship with them.
Another danger is planning for a same sex couple in the same way that one would plan for an opposite sex married couple. Even if you and your partner are registered as a domestic partnership in California, this does not afford you the marital deduction tax planning by the IRS, since the IRS only defines a spouse as someone of the opposite sex. While this may be unfair, we need to ensure that we plan according to the current rules, while we work to amend them.
There are many more considerations that need to be discussed when planning your estate. We are aware of the special circumstances surrounding planning for same-sex couples and will ensure that your plan achieves your goals.