What Women Need to Know About Estate Planning

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Women typically live longer than men, earn less over their careers, and often step away from the workforce to care for their families. These factors make estate planning even more critical. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Protecting Minor Children

Minor children can be legally protected with a Kids Protection Plan®, which provides parents with important legal tools to:

• Name short- and long-term guardians
• Provide instructions and guidelines for those guardians
• Execute medical powers of attorney to dictate medical care for minor children if you are not present
  

Trivia: Did you know that over 60% of parents haven’t named a legal guardian for their children?

Without proper planning, the court decides who raises them.

The Difference Between a Will and a Living Trust

A will and a living trust are both essential estate planning tools, but they serve separate purposes:

• A living trust can take effect while you are alive or after death. It allows you to hold assets for your benefit during your life, which may prove useful if you become incapacitated in the future. A living trust can also help avoid probate and simplify asset transfers.

• A will only takes effect upon death and is used to appoint guardians for minor children, cover assets that are not part of a living trust, and create trusts that kick in after death.

Financial and Healthcare Protection

Women need to execute financial and healthcare durable powers of attorney and consider choosing a member of the family if that person is willing to assume the responsibility of making financial and/or medical decisions on your behalf in case of incapacity. And, if you are married or partnered, make sure your spouse or partner does the same because you’ll be the one who is handling things if anything happens to your spouse/partner and you want it to be as easy as possible.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion for women’s rights, credited her husband, Marty Ginsburg, for handling their finances while she focused on her legal career. After his passing in 2010, she faced the reality of managing financial matters on her own. She later emphasized the importance of estate planning, urging women to take an active role in financial and healthcare decisions to protect themselves and their families. Having a trusted individual in place can prevent unnecessary legal complications and provide peace of mind.

Life Insurance and Estate Taxes

If you rely on your spouse’s income, life insurance can provide financial security. However, owning your own policy can trigger estate taxes, reducing what your loved ones receive. An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) can help ensure proceeds go directly to your beneficiaries tax-free. If you have a taxable estate, the same should be set up for your spouse.

Retirement Accounts and Beneficiary Designations

Your retirement accounts—like IRAs and 401(k)s—are passed down based on the beneficiary designations you’ve set. If they’re outdated, your assets could go to the wrong person. Review and update them regularly to align with your current wishes.

Access to Funds After a Spouse’s Death

If your spouse passes away, you may not be able to access their separate bank accounts immediately. Keeping enough cash in a joint account can help cover expenses while the estate is settled.

Estate Tax Exemptions and Transfers

In 2025, the federal estate tax exclusion is set to be approximately $13.61 million per individual. However, with portability, a surviving spouse can use any unused portion of their deceased spouse’s exclusion, potentially doubling the exemption to $27.22 million for a married couple in 2025. However, this exclusion transfer must be claimed by the deceased spouse’s executor filing an estate tax return. There’s other critical items that must happen when your spouse dies that can easily be overlooked. Contact an attorney within a few weeks of your spouse’s death whether you have a sizable estate or not.

Trivia: The first U.S. estate tax was enacted in 1797 to fund the Navy in case of war.

Today, estate planning helps families keep more of their wealth.

Gifting Strategies to Reduce Taxes

Married couples can participate in “gift splitting” during life, which means they can share each other’s $13.61 million lifetime gift exclusion (per spouse, for a total of $27.22 million in 2025) and can each make annual gifts up to the $18,000 per recipient limit tax-free. We recommend you transfer as much as possible during life for many reasons. Ask us about it.

The best way to learn about protecting yourself and your family is to talk with us about a Life & Legacy Planning Session,  where we can identify the best strategies for you to provide for and protect the financial security of your loved ones.

Schedule a Life and Legacy Planning with us today and take the first step toward long-term financial security.



Secure Your Future, Protect Your Loved Ones

Estate planning is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself, your family, and your financial future. As women, we face unique challenges, but with the right plan in place, we can ensure our loved ones are cared for, our assets are protected, and our wishes are honored.

Don’t wait to take control of your future. Schedule a 15-minute discovery call today to start your Life & Legacy Planning Session and create a plan that gives you confidence and peace of mind.