MYTH No. 3: I’m married so everything will go to my spouse anyway. Married couples often delay establishing an estate plan because the default rules of many states designate that everything passes to one’s spouse at death. However, many couples travel together, making it more likely that an accident would affect both spouses, perhaps even resulting in their simultaneous deaths. Furthermore, following the death of a spouse, a person navigating the grieving process finds it especially difficult to undertake a more lengthy, cumbersome and costly intestacy proceeding, which is required to pass assets to the heirs where there is no Will. So do right by your family and make sure your affairs are in order.
