We generally recommend a Marital Property Agreement for all of our estate planning clients who are married. The Agreement typically does not cover the distribution of assets upon divorce, but does specify how assets are owned by the couple during lifetime and at the time of the death of one of them. Such an Agreement is often recommended because the Wisconsin Marital Property Act sometimes makes it difficult to determine which spouse owns assets upon death without it. Without a Marital Property Agreement, classification of property under the Marital Property Act may also have adverse tax consequences. We often recommend that clients designate most of their property as marital property because marital property tends to have significant tax advantages. However, certain assets are often classified as the individual property of one spouse. For example, we work closely with clients to explain the ramifications of designating property which has been received by gift or inherited by one spouse as marital property. We will also explain the advantages and disadvantages of designating retirement plan assets as marital property. The type of Marital Property Agreement which we recommend for you will be unique to your situation.