Proactive estate planning after life changes like marriage is incredibly important, and failing to update a will after marriage can cause unintended complications.
Making a will is one of those necessary tasks that most people do not like to think about, but once they do it, they feel better and assume that they do not have to worry about it any longer. Unfortunately, estate planning does not work that way. Wills need to be updated as life circumstances change. So, when you marry, you need to change your will, or you may be in for an unwelcome surprise. New Jersey law addresses wills executed before marriage that have not been updated to reflect a change in marital status.
What You Need to Know About Marriage and Will Revocation under NJ Law and Exceptions
N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14 provides relief to an omitted spouse or child when a deceased never updated their will after marriage or a new marriage. The law effectively revokes a will executed before marriage. The law includes exceptions, however. If the will acknowledges or expressly states it is made in contemplation of the future marriage, the marriage may not revoke it. Likewise, when the will expressly states that it is effective despite a future marriage or domestic partnership, the will is not revoked. The final exception is when the will refers to or otherwise evidences an outside transfer that provides for the spouse instead of leaving them something in the will by bequest.
The purpose of N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14 is to protect the interests of an inadvertently omitted spouse from inheriting. The laws of intestate succession kick in to cover the wife. So, between the omitted spouse statute and New Jersey’s Elective Share statute, the spouse who is not provided for in a spouse’s will can take their share provided by law.
Inheritance Complications When Wills Remain Unrevised After Marriage in NJ
When an existing will is executed before a marriage is revoked but no new will replaces the old one, the surviving spouse inherits by the laws of intestacy, meaning without a valid will. Under intestacy laws, the omitted spouse from the revoked will inherit the deceased spouse’s entire estate when no other relatives of the deceased spouse exist to inherit from the estate. The surviving spouse will inherit a quarter of the estate, up to $200,000.00, and share half of the balance with mutual children of the marriage to the decedent.
The situation may get complicated when the prior will contains children of the deceased from a prior marriage or stepchildren from the new marriage. When the will that predates the marriage is revoked, the deceased’s children from a prior marriage may inherit by the laws of intestacy along with the new spouse. However, the stepchildren of the deceased may not inherit under the laws of intestacy unless the deceased adopted them. Without changing a pre-existing will, blended families face complex inheritance issues.
Planning Ahead: Estate Updates to Protect Loved Ones After Marriage
The unintended results of not updating a will after marriage can devastate loved ones. Thus, reviewing and updating your will after getting married is crucial to ensure you include who you want to inherit from you in the event of your death. Your updated will should reflect your current family members and situation, so no one gets inadvertently disinherited. Not only wills but other estate planning instruments may be critical to implementing your wishes after your death. For example, you might want to have a power of attorney naming your new spouse as the one who makes decisions for you should you become incapacitated.
In addition, you may want to set up a family trust or amend your will to provide for children from previous marriages and your current marriage to ensure no one is left out and that minor children have guardians appointed should they need financial and caretaking support after your death.
Align Your Estate Plan with Post-Marriage Priorities with Assistance from our Dedicated Estate Planning Team in Monmouth and Ocean County
At Chamlin, Uliano, and Walsh, our seasoned estate planning attorneys can discuss your unique case, explain how it intersects with New Jersey estate laws, and explore strategies for achieving your estate planning wishes. Estate planning is about imagining the needs of those you care about and wish to support after your death at some unknown time. Our knowledge and training give us the necessary foresight to present hypothetical scenarios that we might not think of occurring in the future. Having been assisting clients in Rumson, Asbury Park, Freehold, Long Branch, Middletown, Red Bank, Holmdel, Toms River, Colts Neck, Neptune, Howell, and throughout Southern New Jersey for decades, our legal team has experience with multitudes of estate plans covering various family structures. We can suggest what to include in your will, trust, or other documents to ensure your wishes are clear in legally valid estate planning instruments. With our dedication to fulfilling all of the essential requirements that make a valid will, we can create a rock-solid estate plan and ensure your will is approved by a judge and followed when distributing your estate after you’re gone.
When your will needs updating to meet your family’s needs or change your wishes, our lawyers can make those changes and ensure they are legally valid amendments or brand-new wills that will be probated without a hitch. However, should a dispute arise from omitted heirs or other problems in probate, an estate law attorney at our West Long Branch, NJ firm will advocate for you in estate litigation and provide solutions to close the estate without delay if litigation can be avoided. Ultimately, whatever your estate planning needs are, our attorneys are fully equipped to answer your questions and guide you through the process to secure your desired result. Contact us at 732-440-3950 for a consultation today.