For many married couples, estate planning begins with a simple sentence: “If something happens to me, everything goes to my spouse.” It feels right. It feels generous. It feels uncomplicated. And emotionally, it makes sense.
But for families with meaningful wealth — particularly those in second marriages — that simplicity can quietly create structural risk. Love is essential. But love alone does not prevent tax exposure, remarriage risk, incapacity, or family conflict.
Structure does. At Gateville Law Firm]] our Yorkville estate planning attorney approaches this problem through what we call our Five-Layer Wealth Risk Architecture™ — because estates do not fail in one dimension. They fail in layers: tax, healthcare, family dynamics, asset protection, and governance.