By Daniel Powell
While in the past it was unlikely to find love and remarry after 60 years old, many people are finding this to be much different today. Take Cathleen Bachmann for example. At 80 years old after her husband of 57 years passed away, she would go on to find a man she would fall in love with and want to get married to. While some may think it is nice she found companionship, families of these once widowed people may think quite a bit differently. This reason for this is that marriage becomes not only a sharing of love and togetherness but of property as well. If Cathleen from our example were to pass away and her new husband were still alive, all of the property would go to him instead of Cathleen's children who were once expecting to get it. Another important thing to remember is that once married, the property of both people is now deemed shared. A way that this can be stopped is by creating a prenuptial agreement before the time of marriage. Another suggestion is to visit an attorney who can help setup an agreement waiving certain marital rights that are tailored towards couples that start out together. This can act as a safeguard for the important people in your life.
Another problem with these later marriages that must be considered is that when people get older, they move to warmer places. This could make them under the jurisdiction of the new state law which is likely the state they will pass away in. While wills make things only more complicated, the types of property play a role as well if the person has moved. Typically, real property assets are governed by the laws of the state in which they reside and personal property is controlled by the laws of the state in which they reside at the time of death. An important thing to remember is that when the time to disperse the deceased's property comes, some people will fight to get every dollar they can and it may become quite a war. It is recommended that you talk with your soon to be husband or wife before the marriage because it may be the case that they want their children to get their property just as bad as you want your children to get yours. The planning of estates upon death is not something that should be taken lightly.
One last and important thought to remember is to speak before it is too late. While we never know when we will die, communication is the most important aspect of estate planning. An interesting scenario arose when a parent tried to divide her estate up equally between her two children. She named her son as the sole beneficiary of her registered retirement fund and left an equal amount in non-registered funds to her daughter. Unfortunately, due to tax liability the non-registered fund was responsible to pay the tax bill on the registered fund. The son went on to get the full value and the siblings no longer communicate. It is very important to ensure your will is very clear and airtight. An angry heir may take legal action which may tie up the estate for years and become very expensive. These legal fees could be easily saved if only the will would have been more understandable and concerns were voiced beforehand!
Feel free to view the original article here:
No comments:
Post a Comment