Remarriage protection is a term that refers to the provisions in your estate plan that can protect your assets and your beneficiaries in case your surviving spouse remarries or cohabitates with another person. Here at The Probate Lawyers, we have extensive experience helping clients get the peace of mind they need through our remarriage protection services, and we are prepared to put that experience to work for you as well. Contact a Broward County remarriage protection lawyer from our firm so we can get started working on your case.
Why Hire a Remarriage Protection Lawyer?
If you’re considering remarriage protection, you’re likely aware of the role a comprehensive plan can play in ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes, should your surviving spouse ever remarry down the line. For this exact reason, you shouldn’t attempt to establish these provisions on your own. Hiring a dedicated Broward County estate lawyer can make a world of difference.
What Are The Benefits of Remarriage Protection?
There are several potential benefits of creating a remarriage protection plan. Just some of the scenarios that remarriage protection can help you avoid are as follows:
- Your surviving spouse disinherits your children or grandchildren in favor of the new spouse or their children
- Your surviving spouse loses your assets to their new spouse or their creditors in a divorce or lawsuit
- Your surviving spouse spends your assets on the new spouse’s care or lifestyle, leaving nothing for your beneficiaries
- Your surviving spouse’s new spouse influences or manipulates your surviving spouse to change their estate plan
Important Remarriage Protection Documents
With a knowledgeable estate attorney, you can achieve remarriage protection through a wide range of estate planning tools, including the following:
- Trusts: You can leave your assets to your surviving spouse in a trust that limits their access and control over the principal, and specifies how the income and remainder should be distributed to your beneficiaries. You can also include a provision that terminates the trust if your surviving spouse remarries or cohabitates with another person.
- Prenuptial agreements: You can ask your surviving spouse to sign a prenuptial agreement with their new spouse that waives any rights or claims to your assets. You can also include a provision that requires your surviving spouse to obtain your beneficiaries’ consent before entering into a prenuptial agreement.
- QTIP trusts: A QTIP trust is a type of marital trust that allows you to provide income to your surviving spouse for life while preserving the principal for your beneficiaries. A QTIP trust also qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction, which means that you can transfer any amount of assets to your surviving spouse without paying any estate taxes. However, a QTIP trust also requires that your surviving spouse be the sole beneficiary of the trust during their lifetime and that any assets remaining in the trust at their death be included in their taxable estate.
Contact The Probate Lawyers Today
The bottom line is that if you’re looking to establish a remarriage protection strategy that best suits you and your family’s needs, we are here to help. Contact The Probate Lawyers today so we can get started working on your plan.
