With all couples planning for the future is a joint effort. However, when one spouse is significantly older or younger than the other, views on the future can diverge.
To protect each other, you need to have comprehensive financial and estate plans. Getting to that point requires open and honest conversations about a variety of topics. For example, employment has a huge impact on health insurance and income, as well as the free time you will (or won’t) have. If you start out both working, your lifestyle may change if one of you decides to retire or stop working before the other is ready.
And what do you do if you both stop working? What do you want to do with your time? If one spouse wants to travel while the other decides to start a business, those desires can create dissension. How will you replace your earned income? Spending retirement funds? Living on social security? Will you try to save so you can leave to your children? Or do you want to spend it all on yourselves as you enjoy your later years? There is no right or wrong answer but these issues need to be discussed in an effort to come to a consensus.
When crafting an estate plan, there may be dual loyalty between children of a first marriage and a second spouse. If you have children from your current marriage, and children from your second marriage, that can be another point of discussion, especially if there is a large age difference between the sets of children. Will they be treated the same as children from the 1st marriage or relationship, or will they receive preferential treatment?
Many people erroneously think that the surviving spouse will inherit everything but that’s not the case in Connecticut unless you have written an estate plan that says exactly that. Otherwise, CT laws will allocate your money and property between various relatives and that may be a huge shock to your younger spouse.
Think about and make decisions as to who will serve as your trusted decision makers. It may be prudent to name alternates to these positions in the event your first choice (usually your spouse) cannot act on your behalf due to health or other reasons. These are just some of the questions you and your spouse should be considering as you plan for your future. If you have any questions or are ready to take the next steps in crafting your estate plan, call us or fill out the form below and we will get in touch with you: