Married couples are those who have joined themselves in marriage and may or not may yet have any children. With the 2015 Supreme Court decision of Obergefell v. Hodges this also includes same sex couples as well as opposite sex couples. Married couples have unique estate planning needs: within the state of California this includes questions of separate and community property, questions of protecting their spouse, and making their intent clear on who wealth should be passed to if they die or are incapacitated.

Their estate plan typically requires a Revocable Living Trust where both spouses are co-trustees, two separate Pour-Over Wills that are mutual (not joint), which essentially means that they have mirror provisions. The Wills should also have a specific and detailed Simultaneous Death Provision, in the event both spouses die, e.g., a car crash. Lastly, both spouses should have Powers of Attorney, and Advanced Health Care Directives.

A Living Trust is the heart of an estate plan. For someone who is not legally trained, it is easiest to think of it as a personal corporation and is considered a separate legal entity from you as a person. It is created by someone (called the “Grantor,” or “Trustor”) for the benefit of someone else (the Beneficiary), and is then overseen by another person (called the “Trustee”). These three persons can be separate persons, or the same person. You can specify the Trust terms such as how funds are to be managed, what funds are given to whom, and more. Since it is a legal entity, it will survive death when you pass and will therefore not need to go through Probate. For married couples it often best for each spouse to be co-trustees of their Trust.