Common-law marriages are one of the most widely misunderstood areas of the law. When you are making your estate plan, it’s important that you speak to your attorney about any questions you have about the legal status of your relationship. In general, common-law marriages are very rare as only a small minority of states allow people to get married through common-law provisions.

• Common-Law States: Only 9 states currently allow people to get married through common-law. All other states, with a couple of exceptions, do not recognize common-law marriages as legally valid. However, if you are married in a state that does recognize common-law marriage and then move to a state that does not, your marriage is still valid.

• Common-Law Requirements: In order to be married through common-law you must meet very specific requirements. Though each state has its own terminology, the three requirements are: being of legal age (typically 18), agreeing to become married, and holding yourself out to the public as a married couple.

• Seven-Year Requirement: There is no state that imposes any minimum time requirement for common-law marriage. You can become married through common-law after a day, a year, a decade, or at any other time as long as you meet the requirements. Living together or cohabitating for a certain number of years will not make you common-law married.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The majority of Americans, according to survey data, do not have any type of estate plan at all. While we’ve blogged regularly about the importance of having an estate plan, it is also important to keep reminding ourselves why such plans are important and why you should regularly review your plan to keep it up-to-date. One of the more troubling aspects of not having an up-to-date estate plan is the prospect of an unintended disinheritance.

Unintended disinheritances can happen for any number of reasons. For example, if you created your last will and testament after the birth of your first child, you may have named that child as your sole inheritor. If you later have a second child and fail to update your will, you may accidentally disinherit the second child. Though this may not be very likely, you can easily account for such an error by changing your will to include broader terminology that will encompass all of your children, or by naming specific gifts for each of your children and updating the will after a new child is born.

Another potential cause for unintended disinheritance is when you have multiple wills or create a will on your own that is later deemed invalid. If, for example, you create one will when you’re single and another after you get married, you should be sure your second Will is drafted properly. If a court finds that your second Will is invalid and you didn’t properly void your first Will, it might use your first Will instead.

Needless to say, regularly updating and reviewing your estate plan will go a long way in preventing any unintended disinheritances. You should make it a habit to review contact your estate planning attorney every year to discuss potential changes you may need to make.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

For anyone in Washington who owns a gun, your estate plan should make specific provisions for the transfer of your weapons. In some situations it may be best to create a gun trust in order to transfer specific types of firearms restricted under federal law. Let’s take a look at a gun trust and the purposes it serves.

Issue 1: Restricted firearms.

Under the National Firearms Act, certain types of weapons cannot be owned, used, or transferred unless you first meet specific legal requirements. If you own a machine gun, sawed-off weapon, silenced weapon or explosive device, you must usually get the approval from your local chief law enforcement officer before you transfer such weapon to a new owner. By using a gun trust to transfer your weapons, you can avoid this step and instead apply directly to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Issue 2: Privacy.

A gun trust allows you to transfer your firearms without having to go through the probate process, and it does not require you to file or register the trust with any government authority. However, you must still meet federal background check and restricted firearms registration requirements in order to transfer the weapons.

Issue 3: Creation and use.

While a gun trust is basically the same as other types of revocable living trusts, it is different in that you must ensure the trust has specific provisions that allow you to legally transfer restricted weapons. If, for example, your trust does not adequately allow for the transfer of trustee responsibilities if the current trustee is deemed ineligible to own or transfer restricted weapons, your trust could be invalid and may result in criminal sanctions against the trustee or the beneficiaries.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

It sounds like the ideal problem to have, doesn’t it? A wealthy family member dies, leaving you a substantial inheritance that effectively means you never have to work again. It means that you can leave money to your children and ensure a lifetime of ease and comfort.

While that is the fantasy, the reality is often far from the truth. For many people who come into sudden wealth, a new set of problems often arises that can leave their lives worse off than they were before. Regardless of the source of the wealth, whether it is by some sort of lottery winnings or inheritance, people often do not know how to deal with the emotional, social, and psychological problems associated with sudden riches. If you are creating an estate plan and are planning on leaving a lot of money to others, you should carefully consider what this may mean as you create your plan.

Issue 1: A change in your life.

Becoming wealthy impacts every aspect of your life, including those aspects you may not want to change. For people who suddenly inherit money, they often find that friends, family members and strangers will treat them far differently than they had before learning of the new wealth. This can come as a shock and lead many people to depression and even seclusion. Many people with wealth often become very guarded as they feel that many of the people they meet are only interested in the person because of his or her money.

Issue 2: A lack of meaning.

Scientists who study happiness have found that while not having money can impede a person’s ability to be happy, having over a certain amount is no indicator of increased happiness. This essentially means that you need enough money to live, but having more money will not make you happy. Happiness often derives from a sense of purpose and meaning in your life, and having too much money can get in the way of developing these feelings as you are never really challenged to overcome any material or personal obstacles.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you are creating your estate plan, you have the opportunity to provide specific gifts to loved ones, beloved neighbors, charities, or anyone you’d like.  These are called “specific gifts.”

Here are some examples of specific gifts:

• $25,000 to the University of Washington, general scholarship fund.
• $10,000 to the American Cancer Society.
• $20,000 to a trust for grandchildren.
• My GE stock to Cousin Betty
• My electric guitar to my brother, Riley.
• A dozen red roses to my neighbor, Alice.

If you want to make specific gifts, list them in your will or trust; however, if you’d like to change the gifts more than once every three to five years, use a memorandum that is referenced in your will or trust.

Keep in mind that the memorandum doesn’t have the force of law, unless it’s executed in the same manner as a will.  Memorandums tend to be honored by loved ones.  But, if you think there’d be an issue or it’s a cash gift, put it in your will or trust.

Anything that is not specifically noted in your will or trust is part of your residuary estate.  In other words, if an asset is not specifically mentioned, it’s part of the residuary.  You must also name beneficiaries of your residuary estate; if you don’t, state intestacy laws will dictates how those assets are divided (and, it might not be what you’d choose for yourself.)

Specific gifts are special for children and grandchildren, especially if they hold sentimental value.  For example, when your daughter was little, the two of you made hot cocoa and drank it from special tea cups.  Pass those tea cups to your daughter with a note, explaining why.

If you would like to include specific gifts in your will or trust, consult with a qualified estate planning attorney.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.