Estate planning for the LGBTQ+ community

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Full disclosure: I do not have any financial ties with Chase Manhattan or J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.

Invest in yourself

Estate planning for the LGBTQ+ community

Alex Bova
Content and Communications, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management

Jun 27, 2022 | 4 min read

Key Takeaways:

• To ensure you have a good estate plan that will, amongst other things, distribute your assets the way you want them to be distributed, make funeral arrangements and plan for estate taxes.

• Naming an executor of the estate, establishing a guardian for minor living dependents, updating beneficiaries on plans such as life insurance, IRAs, and 401(k)s and setting up powers of attorney (POAs) are a few key essentials of estate planning.

• Members of the LGBTQ+ community have to navigate the complications of domestic partnership and adopted children when it comes to estate planning.

When you hear the phrase estate planning, you may think it only pertains to the wealthy, but in truth, everyone should have an estate plan.

Estate planning is understanding your goals and objectives and having a plan in place for what will happen to your assets in the event of your death or incapacitation. Estate planning is more than having a simple will. A proper estate plan helps ensure that all your assets, such as your retirement accounts, home, and even funeral arrangements are handled in exactly the way you want. Estate planning can be tricky so you will want to work with an experienced estate planning attorney to ensure your plan is complete and accurate.

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[JT45242]

1. End of life planning...

If we called it this more people would do it.

Full disclosure kids were like 19 and 14 before we wrote a will. We talked about who should take care of the kids, even asked if they were willing,but never wrote it down. Even started a couple of times...

Covid made us get serious because it was the first time we thought we both might die soon.

But we fear even admitting we will eventually die, so we put it off whether we are LGBTQ+ , straight, or ally we are like children ignoring bedtime, if we don't talk about it then it might happen.

Especially in crazy states that will reban and nullify same sex marriage and criminalize homosexuality, this will be very important. A living will and end of life orders with who you want making decisions is important too. In many states, it may not be long before same sex partners will not be recognized and your next of kin may be some gay bashing trump humper making your end of life decisions if it isn't written down, witnessed, and perhaps notorized.