My lady and I have a related problem. We are in our 70s without children and both have decent 401k savings. If married, and one of us has considerable medical expenses, both of our retirement savings accounts would be fair game for medical bills. Marriage risks poverty for both of us. No marriage guarantees the surviving partner will still have income. We own our home and vehicles together. All of our cash and retirement accounts designate the other as heir or POD. Wills designate everything else to the other.
Why would you expect to have runaway medical expenses if you both, as I would expect, have Medicare and a Supplement with Part D or Medicare Advantage and are covered by out-of-pocket maximums?
...unless you are worried about uncovered research-status medications.
If you put everything in living trust for each other, you avoid an awful lot of proper