We often hear the from our married clients who have double income and no kids: “We do not have any kids so we only need simple estate planning, if we need it at all.” This leads to the question: DO “DINKs” (Double Income, No Kids) Even Need Estate Planning?
The answer is YES! DINKs need at least as much estate planning as anyone else. It is especially important for a couple with no children to carefully choose the people who will make healthcare and financial decisions for them if they are disabled. We find that the worst people step up to the plate to “help out” in the absence of preset direction from YOU. At the very least, powers of attorney and various contingency planning, whether via wills or trusts, are called for. When our clients think about their family members who might volunteer for the job of handling money for them, they often shudder at the thought. Especially as they get older, the thought of being taken advantage of looms in the horizon.
Why leave it to chance? TOMORROW IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER – PLAN TODAY
In our practice, we treat DINKs as a type of blended family when giving them estate planning advice. DINKs are similar to second marriage situations, where there may be “his,” “her,” or “their” children. Assuming the DINK couple want to primarily benefit each other during their joint lifetimes, then any analysis leads to contingency planning. This is because if either of them wants money to ultimately go to his or her family, friends or charities, the choice is either cashing out those contingent beneficiaries upon the death of the first-to-die or careful trust language protecting the rights of the intended secondary heirs of the first-to die spouse during the lifetime of the surviving spouse. Leaving everything outright to the survivor with the expectation that he or she will not change the flow of assets to the first-to-die person’s preferred set of ultimate beneficiaries very often results in those people or charities getting nothing.
Everyone needs planning, including DINKs! CONTACT US TODAY FOR A FREE ESTATE PLANNING CONSULTATION
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