| |
| |
|
Marriage & Wedding Information |
|
Second Marriages. Estate Planning Concerns
One of the biggest areas of dispute in estate planning is with second marriages. Here is a question I received. I've changed the facts around so that I am not giving specific legal advice. Phil, My dad, age 87, is getting married soon so that his new wife will be eligible for social security benefits on his earnings. In his living trust he had made arrangements for me, my sister, and his lady friend. What changes for us, his kids, when he marries this lady? What do we need to know? Wow, what a predicament. My first reaction is to ask if his father was entering into a marital agreement (a pre-nuptial agreement, or pre-nup) before the marriage. What a pre-nuptial agreement will allow is for his father to maintain control over the use and disposition of his estate. Without a pre-nuptial agreement, the laws of their state concerning marital property will control. What this means is that if his father dies after he re-marries and fails to modify his estate plan, his new wife may receive statutory claims or benefits from the father's estate (each state is different, so it is critical to receive local advice). Another area of concern is what happens if the father re-marries and then the wife becomes incompetent? By getting married, the father has opened up his net worth to the medical claims and needs of his new wife. When I was in active practice and was consulted by a widowed client who wanted to re-marry, I reviewed the rules concerning long term health (nursing home rules and costs) with him. I showed him what he would be responsible for if they were to re-marry. I'd say 8 out of 10 people I saw and went over this with decided not to re-marry after learning the rules. They decided to "live in sin." Another area of dispute I often saw was when the re-marrying parent wanted to change his or her estate plan to provide for the new spouse. This caused a lot of hard feelings. The children often felt that they were entitled to the estate of the first parent to die and that it should not be held for the new spouse. By providing for the new spouse, the re-marrying parent is putting his children in a position where they are waiting for their "step-parent" to die before receiving what they felt is rightfully theirs. So, think twice before re-marrying in your later years. Consult with competent legal counsel and consider, at a minimum using a pre-nuptial agreement. Consider the impact the new marriage will have on your revocable living trust and whether any changes are needed to your estate plan for Medicaid or estate tax reasons. Phil Craig is a licensed attorney and entreprenuer.He started practicing law at age 25 in 1979. He does not take on any more clients, but isadvisor to some of the biggest names in the internetworld. He shares his knowledge gained over thelast 25 years at his Living Trust Secrets newsletter site:click here=========>http://www.LivingTrustSecrets.com ** Attn Ezine editors / Site owners **Feel free to reprint this article in its entiretyin your ezine or on your site so long as you leaveall links in place, do not modify the content andinclude our resource box as listed above. If you do use the material please send us a noteso we can take a look. Thanks.
MORE RESOURCES:
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Planning A Backyard Wedding So many couples are planning to have their wedding at locations that are symbolic to them. A popular place for this is their parents or relative's backyard. How You Answer This Question Can Change Your Marriage Imagine the following scenario. Your spouse has given you an important letter to mail and is counting on you to mail it on your way to work. All that Glitters-Something Old, Something New... Brides through the ages have accessorized with wedding jewelry to add a finishing touch to their bridal attire; however, many brides who don't wear jewelry in everyday life jump at the chance to wear it on their wedding day. Is it the special occasion or the chance to play dress-up that prompts these brides to don the unthinkable-jewelry?Those brides too practical to care about jewelry in real life use it on their wedding day to check off all the "somethings" that bring good luck-something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Planning Your Wedding - How To Get Organized You have purchased the latest bridal magazines from your local grocery store and there are pages and pages of photos of beautiful wedding gowns, rings and articles on weddings. Some give you a brief idea of what you need to do to plan your wedding, but you're still not sure how to begin the process. Caricature Entertainment: A Surefire Way to Liven Up Your Wedding Celebration Caricature entertainment will make your wedding celebration stand out and be remembered.If you've never seen caricatures drawn at an event, you'll be amazed when you see how popular they are with guests. Spotlight on the Asian-Themed Wedding Asian-themed weddings are on the rise, and at first this might come as a surprise. After all, nothing could seem further from the Laura Ashley vision we get when thinking of a wedding. Signature Frames - Your Guestbook and Wedding Frame Together At Last! So you have been invited to a wedding. Whether you are a friend, family member or the proud parents, one of the most important, if not stressful decisions is what to buy the new couple. Advice on Wedding Invitation Wording After choosing the design for your wedding invitations you can explore ways to express your relationship and wedding plans through creative wording. Some couples select a special quotation or poem; others write personal thoughts from the heart, while those planning a fun and casual wedding play around with wording even using rhymes. Wedding Invitation Tips and Advice You're well into planning your wedding and have finally decided on the design of your wedding invitation. The wording has been chosen and the guest list is well on its way to completion. Marriage A Menace Apparently for a person to get married is like burning the candle at both ends. No one can say that what particularly is the meticulous age to get married but people in our society have set age limits for a person to get married and it has now become a common tendency that if a person crosses a certain limit he or she has to die in harness. Wedding Dresses - Why They Are White and Other Wedding Lore Brides have always worn white, right? Not so. In ancient times brides wore bright colored wedding dresses to signify their joy. Men's Moissanite Wedding Rings To Beat Other Gifts Any Day Whoever said diamonds are women's best friends, surely missed on mentioning men! Believe it or not, men too go bonkers over these sparks. When it comes to the glitters, man or woman, there's no exception! So if your man's crazy about the ember, men's moissanite wedding rings would just be a perfect wedding gift for him. A Honeymoon Like No Other When it comes to choosing a honeymoon destination it's usually sandy beaches and blue waters here, a historical sight there, or a luxurious pampering from morning till night somewhere else.The other day, though, looking through the various web sites, I came across a honeymoon destination which must surely be the most unique of them all. Honeymoon Destinations Your big day is now over all the stress of preparing for that one day is a fond memory, now its time to enjoy the best part of the whole celebration, which is of course the honeymoon. Whether it be a skiing trip in Angola or a Caribbean cruise this is going to be the best holiday of your life so make room in your budget and splash out. Wedding Insurance - Peace of Mind for Your Perfect Day? With the average cost of a wedding around £17,000 you would think that more couples would take out wedding insurance just in case something happens to spoil the special day. However, an estimated 85% of couples planning to get married do not bother with insurance. Online Wedding Dress Shopping! Taking the hassle out of finding your perfect and unique wedding dress.Getting married is no longer a case having only two options, church or court house, as it used to be. To Choose a Wedding Planner or Not to Choose a Wedding Planner When I was the owner of a major wedding facility, I was able to observe the results of more than 300 weddings. I've seen exceptional events that will last forever in the memories of the participants. Do You Hear Wedding Bells? So you've been in that perfect relationship for some time now. You've been dropping hints about the future and he is receiving you loud and clear. Relationship Advice: A Map for Your Marriage Have you ever been lost?My favorite line about being lost comes from an old "M*A*S*H" episode where Hawkeye says, "We're not lost. I've been lost before, and this is not what it looks like. Inside Secrets On How To Stay In Love My husband Bill and I have just had our 37th-wedding anniversary and our love is deeper today than when we got married. Whether you are in a relationship or looking for a relationship we trust that these few insights will help you to stay in love.
|
| home | site map | contact us |
