If you’ve recently married for a second time or are planning to do so, it’s important to meet with your attorney to be sure all your assets will still be properly distributed in the future. Even if you think your new spouse is very trustworthy, you must understand how Texas community property laws may affect all preferred beneficiaries when you pass away one day.
In order to minimize future misunderstandings, many spouses in second marriages enter into property agreements that help balance out the interests of all children from prior marriages – as well as those who might be born into your new one.
Before reviewing some of the basic legal documents your lawyer may need to redraft on your behalf now that you’ve remarried, it will be helpful to note some of the complications that can develop when newlyweds simply assume their current estate plans don’t need to be updated.
Careful planning can help you minimize problems with the future disposition of your estate
- Suppose you’ve married a much younger new spouse and you have children from your first marriage. What will likely happen to your home and all other possessions upon your death? Sometimes, newlyweds just assume that all will go well once the older spouse dies first – and that older children of the deceased spouse will just wait many years until the new spouse passes dies to inherit the family home and other wealth.
Unfortunately, bitter legal fights can erupt between your adult children and your surviving spouse under this type of scenario. What’s often best is to leave an insurance policy (and possibly other funds) in a trust, so that your children can receive specific amounts of money upon your death – and then other property or wealth years later when your surviving spouse finally passes away;
- What if your new spouse keeps insisting that if you pass away first, he’ll make sure your kids from an earlier marriage will inherit all that you wish, without stating this in newly executed documents? Can this type of arrangement ever be risky? Yes, it can. It’s always possible that you and your new spouse will experience hard times financially at some point in the future. If that happens, keeping sincere early promises may no longer seem reasonable to a surviving spouse left with only a modest amount of money.
Always update your estate plan when you remarry. And if you and your new spouse hold very different attitudes toward certain financial bequests, go ahead and meet with different attorneys to update your estate plans separately. However, make sure you both understand your responsibilities to your new spouses under the new estate plans (and ask your lawyers to review both plans to be sure they won’t precipitate any crises);
- Will it cause unnecessary confusion for spouses in a second marriage to hold joint bank accounts in the future to pay certain mutual expenses – without jeopardizing the later disposition of assets when one spouse dies? That arrangement should work out fine, although you should both consider also maintaining separate bank accounts to help you pay expenses tied to all separate properties you brought into the marriage.
Should new spouses carefully revise named beneficiaries in POD and retirement accounts?
The answer to that question is almost always, “Yes.” Be sure to bring information about all accounts you have when meeting with your Houston estate planning attorney. You should also bring copies of any property deeds in which you’re named — and information about any trust accounts you currently have (or may desire). Your attorney will also need to see copies of your current Last Will and Testament, 401k and POD accounts, all retirement accounts and all insurance policies.
If you need any advice about your current estate plan due to an upcoming marriage – or divorce, please contact one of our Murray Lobb attorneys at your convenience. We will look forward to providing you with the documents you’ll need to feel confident and secure about your entire family’s financial future.