Will Options for Couples

Using a Mirror Will

Mirror wills would only be an option under very specific circumstances.

They are best considered when all of these are true.

1. It is not possible to create a joint will.
2. You want to name each other as beneficiaries.
3. Either you have only shared biological/adopted children or no children to name as beneficiaries.
4. You and your partner are in complete agreement about the fate of the estate upon passing.

Although a will is not the best place to leave funeral and burial wishes, since the will may not be read until after these happen, each partner can include their own preferences.

When to Avoid a Mirror Will

Given the limited conditions where mirror wills are useful, it is not surprising that they are not appropriate for most couples.

Many types of relationships are possible and mirror wills are not the best options for anything but the simplest relationships.

The bottom line is that you want to avoid a situation where your partner could opt to change their will to reflect their preferences, either before or after your death

If you now have a blended family, many complications could affect the will-making process.

• Your partner may bring additional beneficiaries to the relationship, including step children and in-laws that could make your partner’s beneficiary priorities different from yours.
• This may have the result of preventing your chosen beneficiaries from inheriting if your surviving partner updates their will to leave the estate to their biological/adopted children or other family.
• If you marry later in life, you may want to protect assets that you have already chosen the beneficiary for, whether they are family or another type of relationship.

For these kinds of complex relationships, you should probably create two individual wills that address all the unique circumstances of your lives.

Although very similar to mirror wills, mutual wills contain additional terms that make it mutually binding, i.e. you must each carry out the others wishes stated in their will.

• Once a clause is added that limits how your surviving spouse can distribute personal items or other property the will is irrevocable (cannot be changed).In other words, the wishes agreed upon in each of your wills must be carried out once your surviving spouse dies.
• This end result ensures that any property left to your children in the mutual wills eventually passes to your children, rather than to your surviving spouse’s new spouse or stepchildren
• As with all wills, there are differences among the states.

There are a number of other differences between mutual and mirror wills.

• The will should contain more detailed instructions on how certain assets are distributed, since the will may not be settled for a long time after you die and you may have to anticipate long-term events.
• You can add a clause that neither of you can alter their will while both of you are alive without mutual consent and after adequate notice to allow time to prepare and alter your will accordingly.

Here are the basic details about joint wills.

The will contains an agreed upon distribution of your jointly owned property, usually to your surviving spouse.

They may also include instructions from each of you about how your separate property is to be distributed.

The will can only be updated or revoked by mutual agreement while you are both alive.

Once you die the will is irrevocabile, since your surviving spouse could only change it with your approval, which you are not around to give.

Once your surviving spouse dies the estate goes automatically to your children, even if your spouse remarried or created a new will. They will not be able to disinherit your mutual children.