Spouses With a Joint Trust: What Happens If You Die Days Apart?

You and your spouse made plans for one of you to take over. You’ve named each other as beneficiaries and discussed how the surviving spouse would support your family.

It’s completely normal if you haven’t thought about what happens when both of you pass away.

What occurs if spouses die simultaneously, or within just a few days of each other? When we look at your plan, we’d like you to be ready to address three key questions:

Who receives your assets first?

How long must that person outlive you?

Who inherits if they don’t survive long enough?

You might recall the passing of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in 2025. Authorities determined that she passed first, with their deaths happening days apart. Their situation is a sobering example that spouses don’t always have years between their deaths to update their plans. (Source: Associated Press)

For your loved ones, this brings up an important concern: If you leave everything to your spouse, what takes place when both of you are gone? Simply outliving your spouse by a few hours doesn’t guarantee you’ll inherit. Your legal documents, the rules governing each asset, and your state’s laws will determine what comes next.

When we develop a Life & Legacy Plan together, we address those questions while you’re able to make decisions as a couple. We align your legal documents with your assets and the loved ones you want to safeguard.

What Happens When Spouses Pass Away at the Same Time? Your Plan and State Law Make the Decision

If you’re planning to leave most of your assets to your spouse, you probably imagine them enjoying that money for many years ahead. But what if your spouse passes away just two days after you do? Where does that property go from there?

Let’s say your will gives property to your spouse, and their will passes their estate to children from a previous relationship. For assets distributed through your will, the key question becomes whether your spouse survived long enough to satisfy the required survival period. If they did, that property might flow into their estate and eventually reach their children. If they didn’t, your documents and your state’s laws will decide who gets it instead.

Probate is the legal process where courts oversee the administration of an estate. When property goes through probate at both deaths, it may require administration twice. However, two deaths don’t necessarily mean two separate probates: assets held in trust or passing directly to a named beneficiary follow their own separate rules.

In a blended family situation, where one or both spouses have children from an earlier relationship, you might want to take care of your spouse while also protecting your children’s inheritance. Your strategy needs to balance both of these goals, including planning for scenarios where you pass away just days apart.

Here’s what matters most: When two deaths occur in quick succession, even a difference of just hours can determine which document applies and who ultimately inherits.

Understanding What a Survivorship Clause Really Means

A survivorship clause outlines how long someone needs to outlive you in order to inherit from your estate. For instance, your plan might specify that your spouse must survive you by 30 days. The ideal timeframe really comes down to what you’re trying to accomplish, how the rest of your estate plan is structured, and what your state’s laws say.

If that person doesn’t make it through the required period, the clause treats them as if they passed away before you did when it comes to that inheritance. Your plan’s backup instructions, along with applicable state law, will decide who gets those assets instead.

Let’s say in a two-day scenario, a valid 30-day requirement would prevent the inheritance covered by that clause from going to your spouse. It’s just as important to pick your backup recipients as it is to decide on the number of days.

However, a clause in your will won’t automatically affect your life insurance, retirement accounts, or property titles. You’ll need to review each asset to make sure it aligns with the instructions and rules that govern it.

Here’s what matters most: A survivorship clause can help you avoid an unnecessary second transfer of assets, but it has to apply to the specific assets it’s designed to protect.

The 120-Hour Rule Serves as a Default, Not Your Family’s Actual Plan

What happens if your documents don’t specify a survival period? State law can step in to fill that gap. The Uniform Simultaneous Death Act establishes 120 hours—or five days—as the standard timeframe. Under this framework, a beneficiary typically needs to outlive you by that duration to receive an inheritance, unless your documents or state law say otherwise.

This means that surviving just two days won’t cut it. However, the five-day rule isn’t universal and doesn’t apply in every circumstance. Your own documents might establish a completely different timeframe.

A default rule can’t account for whether you’d prefer to keep property within one branch of your family, whether a beneficiary has unique needs, or how you’d like to support children from a prior marriage.

That’s exactly why we explore your family situation before suggesting specific language. A longer survival period isn’t necessarily the right choice. The terms should align with your personal goals and the applicable laws in your state.

Here’s what matters most: While state law provides a fallback option, it can’t determine what truly reflects your family’s priorities.

A Joint Trust Does Not Make the Question Disappear

Couples who set up a joint revocable trust sometimes believe it automatically handles every situation when one spouse passes away.That’s not always the case.Your trust needs to clearly spell out what occurs when the first spouse dies, how things shift if the surviving spouse passes during a specific timeframe, and the way remaining assets get distributed once both spouses are gone. Questions can also pop up around separate property, retirement accounts, insurance payouts, and assets that were never moved into the trust.

For families with children from previous relationships, your plan should take care of your spouse while also protecting what you want to leave to your kids. This might involve creating separate accounts for each child, keeping certain assets in the trust beyond your death, or providing unique directions for specific pieces of property.

There’s no standard language that fits every couple’s situation. The specific wording needs to reflect how you own your assets, your family setup, your tax circumstances, and your vision for what comes next.

Here’s what matters most: A joint trust is simply a tool. It only works when what it says matches your actual assets and the family results you’re hoping for.

Beneficiary Forms Need the Same Answer

Your will and trust aren’t the only documents that guide your estate. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and certain bank or investment accounts typically transfer to whoever you’ve named as beneficiaries on those specific forms. It’s crucial that these beneficiary designations align with your overall estate plan.

Imagine you have a life insurance policy with your spouse listed as the primary beneficiary and an adult child as the alternate. What happens to that benefit if your spouse passes away shortly after you? The answer depends on what the policy, beneficiary form, and state law say—not necessarily what your will states.

When we conduct a planning review, we examine how those forms fit together with your trust, will, how you own your assets, your family situation, and what each person’s role should be. We also work alongside your financial, insurance, and tax advisors to bring in their specialized knowledge when needed.

That’s what it means to see the complete picture. Your family won’t experience your trust, retirement account, insurance policy, and home as separate, unrelated projects. When life changes happen, all of these pieces come into play at the same time.

Here’s what matters most: Your succession plans are only as effective as the coordination between your legal documents, how your assets are titled, and your beneficiary designations.

Your Family Needs an Answer Before the Emergency

When deaths occur in quick succession, your family may lack the time and emotional energy to figure out what you intended.

Since we maintain an ongoing relationship with you, your family benefits from having someone who already understands your strategy, your loved ones, and your wealth’s intended purpose. We can assist them in pinpointing which assets are involved, which instructions apply, and which additional advisors should be consulted.

This relationship starts well before any crisis hits. We make sure your plan is crystal clear, keep it current as your family and finances evolve, and ensure the people you care about know exactly who to reach out to.

Together, we tackle four key questions:

If we pass away hours or days apart, who receives the assets as beneficiaries?

Could any property end up going through two separate estates or probate processes?

Do our trust, will, asset titles, and beneficiary designations all tell the same story?

Does that story still match our family’s situation today?

It also makes a real difference when the time comes. While your family is dealing with funeral arrangements, we can help the person managing your plan locate the necessary documents and identify which advisors need to be involved in the upcoming decisions.

The key takeaway: Strong documents address the legal side of things. An ongoing relationship ensures your family can actually put that answer into action when it counts most.

Life & Legacy Planning Session: Steps You Can Take Today

Check your documents for the terms “survive” or “survivorship” and make a note of any survival periods you find for us to review together. Please don’t modify any beneficiary forms or pull a survivorship clause from the internet based on what you read here. What matters most is your state’s laws and the specific language in your documents, and the best solution really depends on your unique family situation. We believe in personalized planning, not cookie-cutter approaches. Your Life & Legacy Plan should be designed around your family, your assets, and what you truly value.

Our relationship with you doesn’t stop once you’ve signed the paperwork. When life happens, your family will know exactly who to reach out to.

We’d love to chat! Schedule a free 15-minute discovery call with us to talk through how your plan would work if deaths happen in close succession.

Schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation to learn more.

This article is a service of Kristen Wong of Seasons Estate Planning, APC, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session™, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Life & Legacy Planning Session™.

The content is sourced from Personal Family Lawyer® for use by Personal Family Lawyer® firms, a source believed to be providing accurate information. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking legal advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.