Couples that marry later in life often bring significant assets of their own to the marriage – as well as children from previous marriages they want to receive those assets after they’re gone. There are several ways to accomplish this goal, including:
Bypass trust. Couples can create a bypass trust to hold joint assets for their use; when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse still has access to the assets to use during his or her lifetime. When the surviving spouse dies, the assets can then pass to the beneficiaries of each spouse.
Life insurance. If you don’t want your beneficiaries to have to wait until both spouses are gone before they get their inheritances, then you might want to consider funding a life insurance policy with the proceeds going to children or other heirs.
QTIP trust. A Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trust provides income for a surviving spouse and, upon his or her death, distributes the remaining wealth to children or other beneficiaries.
Prenuptial agreement. If both spouses decide they will not inherit from each other for whatever reason, a prenuptial agreement can be created that specifically defines each spouse’s separate assets and liabilities.
Contact our Newport Beach law firm to discuss additional strategies for protecting your assets.