Chapter 16: Beyond Ozzie & Harriett
Straight Talk and Otherwise

Al and Gertrude were very much in love. In fact, they’d spent three decades together as committed partners, sharing their home and their lives. They even raised two children. But when Gertrude died, her estate didn’t pass to Al, who needed the money badly. Instead, it went to Gertrude’s brother Leo, and Al – whose full name was Alice – lost the house she and Gertrude shared.

So far, this book has dealt mostly with the “typical” estate planning situations – those involving a married couple. But times are changing, and plenty of family arrangements don’t fit into that old cookie cutter pattern of one man, woman, and 2.3 kids. Unfortunately, however, the law is almost always written with conventional families in mind.

Because the law often assumes that families are traditional, it has provisions like the spouse’s elective share and the rules of intestacy. The first of these guarantees that your spouse will have the chance to claim a share of your estate, no matter what your will says. The second leaves your property to your family if you die without a will.

For other couples to do all that married couples can do in the eyes of the law, they must have a will or trust and use contractual agreements that set out the rights and responsibilities of each partner. Read on to find out what you need to do.