Today, most people in Washington State know someone who has gotten divorced or maybe they have even been divorced themselves. Many of these people go on to find new relationships and even consider getting married again. This situation should be something to celebrate and, in many circumstances, it is. However, there are serious issues that people must contend with when it comes to the future of their assets and their estate planning before taking the plunge to get married again.
As reported by Think Advisor, there is a recently released book which is titled “Alzheimer’s, Widowed Stepmothers & Estate Crimes”. The book takes a look at what the author asserts are the top three reasons for problems with an inheritance or an estate plan. Specifically, the problems involving stepmothers may well be able to be avoided if only a couple took premarital estate planning seriously.
A common situation that arises is a husband leaves his assets to his new wife after he dies. The man may assume that all or some assets will eventually transfer to his children. He may even have documentation that indicates after the wife dies, all remaining assets will go to his kids. However, if the plan is not properly laid out, there may be no assets left for the children by the time the wife dies.
The widowed stepmother may spend everything, may sell items or may create her own will that transfers everything she owns to her own biological children, thereby disinheriting her deceased husband’s children.
