Marriage is not for everyone. In many cases, couples will choose to remain life partners, without ever getting married. If you are an unmarried couple, you may have questions concerning how involved you can be with your partner’s financial, medical and overall life decisions. Fortunately, Michigan offers many benefits and options regarding estate planning for unmarried couples. Some of these benefits include hospital visits, collecting each other’s inheritance, social security benefits, joint taxes, and more. Contact our experienced Michigan estate planning attorneys to get started on your estate plan today.
What is the role of an Attorney-in-fact in estate planning for unmarried couples in Michigan?
Durable powers of attorney are one of the most useful tools for unmarried couples. With a Durable Power of Attorney, you can give your partner the authority to make important decisions on your behalf if you were to become incapacitated or unable to make those decisions on your own. You can also appoint your partner to be your healthcare proxy in an Advance Healthcare Directive. This allows your partner to make end-of-life decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment. Additionally. your partner may also be able to manage your finances.
What is a Letter of Instruction?
This is a tool used by unmarried couples to document their wishes that they would like to be carried out upon their passing. Typically, these letters will contain detailed instructions that can include passwords or passcodes to safes or online accounts, where you keep your assets, potential bills that need to be addressed, or any other information pertaining to how you would like your estate handled upon your passing.
In order to ensure that you have not missed anything in your letter of instruction, contact our firm today.
What is a Digital Estate Plan?
Technology has become prevalent in today’s society. Because of this, we have to plan for our digital assets as well. In order to have a complete estate, digital tokens, computers, external hard drives, smart devices, data packages, online accounts, intellectual property, and more should be accounted for. In many cases, your digital assets can be a far greater part of your overall estate plan than you may realize.
If you are an unmarried couple that is looking to create an estate plan, contact our experienced estate planning attorneys at Collis, Griffor & Henfra today. We are committed to ensuring that you and your partner have all of your estates covered.
Contact our Firm
Sometimes, divorce, family, and estate matters are difficult to navigate. Fortunately, they do not have to be with the assistance of a compassionate, knowledgeable attorney who is willing to guide you every step of the way. If you need a seasoned firm to help you with any divorce, family, or estate-related matter, please do not hesitate to contact Collis, Griffor & Hendra today to schedule a consultation.
