The Spousal Elective Share
When it comes to your estate plan, the law seeks to protect and carry out your intentions with respect to the disposition of your property upon your death. But Massachusetts law may dictate a different outcome if you leave your spouse out of your will. In Massachusetts, like many other states, the elective share statute aims to prevent one from disinheriting a spouse.
The elective share statute permits a surviving spouse to set aside their deceased spouse’s will and instead claim a statutorily-defined portion of the deceased spouse’s probate estate. Depending on the existence of descendants of either or both spouses, parents of the decedent, and/or other close family members of the decedent, the surviving spouse may claim an amount ranging from one-third of the probate estate to $25,000 plus one-half of the remaining estate. A portion of that share may be received as a life estate in the subject property.
Unfortunately, in many circumstances, the elective share statute misses its mark in achieving a fair and equitable outcome for the surviving spouse. For example, the current statutory scheme fails to take into account the length of the marriage, thereby treating a recent marriage exactly the same as 40-year … Keep reading
Last month I reviewed how to approach the extremely important decision of 
We all love our in-laws, right? (wink, wink) Shielding your hard-earned assets from a child’s spouse in the event of divorce is a critical component of your estate plan. Perhaps you love your son-in-law, but would prefer to pass assets down within your own bloodline. Or, perhaps having been divorced yourself, you realize the possibility of your own child’s divorce, and you worry that your son’s inheritance could end up in the hands of his ex-spouse and their new family down the road. Whatever underlies your concerns, there are ways to prepare an estate plan around these contingencies.
Often times in a divorce matter, the two biggest assets the parties have are their house and retirement accounts. While everyone was busy with the recent holiday rush, President Trump signed the SECURE Act into law as part of the government’s spending bill. The SECURE Act takes effect on January 1, 2020, and makes important changes to retirement savings. While not a law directed specifically to divorcing spouses, it is important to understand the changes the SECURE Act has made given that retirement accounts are a significant consideration in most divorce matters. Some of the most important changes the SECURE Act made are as follows.
If you find yourself lucky in love after a divorce, you have myriad considerations when deciding whether to remarry. If you have children from your prior marriage that you would like to provide for, I recommend that updating your estate plan be top of mind. A carefully crafted estate plan can function to provide for both your children and new spouse in a way that meets your goals.
It’s advisable to review and update your estate plan with any change in personal circumstances, financial circumstances, changes in the law, or just the passage of an extended time. But if you’re in the midst of a divorce, or contemplating one, this may be the furthest thing from your mind. Here are a few key reasons why you should make updating your estate plan a top priority:
If you are getting divorced, you may find that your marital assets include interests in one or more trusts. It could be that you and your spouse established the trusts during your lifetime, or perhaps a family member created the trusts for the benefit of you or your spouse. Either way, you need to know what the trusts say. They may play a crucial role in the division of your assets or the support you will receive.
People often ask “Why do I need a trust?” Some folks think they can get by with a simple will. Here is why you probably need more than that:
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