If you found this page because you're getting married and wondering what it means for your estate plan, congratulations! You're already doing something many couples overlook: preparing for life beyond the ceremony and reception. Some of these decisions can wait until after the wedding. Others are best made before it. Here's what to think about, and when.
Before the wedding
Until you're married, your partner generally inherits nothing. California's default inheritance rules don't recognize fiancés or unmarried partners. If something happened before the wedding, your partner could be left out entirely unless you've named them in a will, trust, or beneficiary designation.
Consider a premarital agreement. A premarital agreement (often called a prenup) works hand in hand with your estate plan. It can identify what each of you brings into the marriage as separate property, and set out what each spouse will, or won't, inherit. It's especially valuable if either of you has significant separate property, owns a business, or has children from a prior relationship.
Timing matters here. Under California law, the final agreement must be presented, and each person advised of their right to independent counsel, at least seven days before it's signed. That means the conversation should start months before the wedding, not weeks.
Each spouse needs their own documents
Marriage doesn't merge your estate plans into one. Each spouse needs their own will, durable power of attorney, and Advance Health Care Directive.
Many married couples share a joint revocable trust, but it isn't required. Separate trusts can make more sense in some situations, especially second marriages and blended families, where each spouse may want to provide for their own children or keep certain property separate. If you do use a joint trust, it's important to clearly identify each spouse's separate property, so that placing it in the trust isn't later treated as turning it into community property.
If you don't have an estate plan yet
If you pass away without a will or trust, California's default inheritance rules (called "intestacy") decide who receives your property. For married couples:
- Community and quasi-community property: your surviving spouse receives all of it, meaning their own half plus yours.
- Your separate property: your spouse receives all of it if you have no children, parents, siblings, or their descendants. They receive half if you have one child, or no children but a surviving parent or sibling. They receive one-third if you have two or more children.
That may or may not match what you'd want, particularly if you have children from a prior relationship or significant separate property.
The good news: this is the perfect time to start. Planning together is also a chance to talk openly about your expectations and wishes as a couple.
If you already have an estate plan
Congratulations on being ahead of the game! Now it's time to review it. Marriage brings new family members you may want to provide for, possibly including stepchildren.
If you signed your will or trust before the wedding and it doesn't account for your new spouse, California law generally presumes you simply forgot. Your spouse becomes what's called an omitted spouse and is entitled to:
- Your half of the community and quasi-community property, in addition to the half they already own, and
- A share of your separate property equal to what they would receive without a will, up to one-half.
These rules don't apply if:
- Your will or trust makes clear you intentionally chose not to provide for your spouse,
- You provided for your spouse outside the will or trust (for example, as the beneficiary of life insurance or a retirement account) and intended that to take its place, or
- Your spouse validly waived the right to inherit, such as in a premarital agreement.
Don't forget the details
- Beneficiary designations. Marriage doesn't automatically update the beneficiaries on your life insurance, retirement accounts, or payable-on-death accounts. These pass by their beneficiary forms, not your will or trust, so review each one after the wedding.
- Employer retirement plans. For many employer-sponsored plans, like 401(k)s, federal law gives your spouse automatic rights to the account. If you want someone else to be the beneficiary, your spouse generally must sign a waiver after the wedding. A waiver in a premarital agreement alone usually isn't enough.
- Your agents. Many people's existing powers of attorney and health care directives name a parent or sibling. Decide whether you'd now like to name your spouse instead.
Start your marriage on solid ground
Whether you have no plan, an old plan, or a plan that's never accounted for a spouse, the law will fill in the gaps, and the result may not fit your family. That's especially true for blended families and couples bringing significant separate property into the marriage.
If you're getting married, now is the time to get your affairs in order. Contact Meridians Estate Planning to talk through a premarital agreement, an estate plan, or both.