Starting a life together means planning for it.

No. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass to whoever you named on the beneficiary form — even if you filled it out a decade before you got married. Some states require spousal consent to name someone other than your spouse, but that doesn't automatically update old designations. Check every account.

Most married couples use a joint revocable trust. It's simpler, covers your shared assets, and lets everything pass to the surviving spouse without probate. Separate trusts make sense in specific situations — significant premarital assets, children from prior relationships, or asset protection concerns — but for most newlyweds, one trust works.

Joint tenancy means you both own the whole asset; when one dies, the other automatically owns it all. Community property (in the nine states that use it) means assets acquired during marriage are owned 50/50. Both avoid probate on the first death, but they have different tax implications — community property gets a full stepped-up basis, joint tenancy only half.

Default rules won't protect them. If you die without a trust, your assets may pass entirely to your new spouse — with no guarantee they'll eventually reach your children. A trust lets you provide for your spouse while ensuring your kids inherit what you intend.

You don't need it because something bad is likely to happen. You need it because the paperwork is easy now and miserable later. Twenty minutes today means your spouse can access your accounts, make medical decisions, and avoid court if something unexpected happens. That's the whole point.