Often in a marriage, one spouse is primarily responsible for handling and managing the finances and bill paying. However, that arrangement leaves the other spouse in the dark. When the hands-off spouse has to take over the financial responsibilities because of a death or disability it can be a great challenge. Anne Tergesen in her article “Estate Planning for the Uninitiated” in the Wall Street Journal provides some excellent tips to help both spouses stay informed. One of the best tips is to hire an estate planning attorney to make sure all documents are up to date and make sure that both spouses understand what each documents says and does.
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