Attorney Maria Baler’s Smart Counsel Interview with Attorney Barbara Nason. The interview covers the intersection of Family Law and Estate Planning, including a discussion of the importance of pre-nuptial agreements for both first and second marriages, when you can update your estate plan during or after a divorce, and the importance of making sure your estate plan coordinates with your pre-nuptial agreement or divorce settlement agreement. We appreciate Attorney Nason taking the time to share her wisdom and experience with us. You can find Attorney Barbara Nason here.
Divorce
How a Marriage or Divorce Can Affect Your Estate Plan
When it comes to estate planning, understanding how major life events like marriage and divorce can affect your estate is crucial. These events can significantly impact the distribution of your assets if they are not properly addressed in your estate plan. Here’s what you need to know to ensure that your estate plan remains effective and reflects your current wishes.
Marriage: Premarital Wills
If you get married after executing a will but you never get around to updating your will to include your spouse, your premarital will stays in place at your death. However, Massachusetts law allows the surviving spouse to take his or her intestate share of your estate before your property is distributed under your will. The surviving spouse’s intestate share is the share that the spouse would have received if you died without a Will. This is called an “elective share” of your estate, and your spouse can claim this share regardless of what your premarital will says.
If your premarital will gives property to your child who was born before your marriage and who was from a prior relationship (i.e., not also your spouse’s child), then the surviving spouse’s elective share is taken from the portion of the estate that you did not give to such child. The amount of the elective share that the surviving spouse can take depends on several factors, such as whether you had children with your spouse, whether either of you had children from prior marriages or relationships, and if neither of you had children but you die with a living parent.
There are exceptions to this rule. If you knew you were getting married, you could have stated in your premarital will that it is being made in contemplation of marriage to your spouse and your will is to be effective notwithstanding any subsequent marriage. But if marriage was the last thing on your mind when you made your will, then you need to revise your premarital will to avoid potential conflicts and ensure that your estate is distributed according to your wishes.
Divorce: Automatic Revocation of Provisions
If you have a will and subsequently get divorced from your spouse, any provisions you made in your will for your spouse are automatically revoked. This also applies to beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement plans, transfer-on-death accounts, and any other revocable disposition. If your will named your former spouse or family members of your former spouse as Personal Representative of your estate, those designations are treated as if the former spouse predeceased you. However, if you and your former spouse later marry each other again, then the previously provisions in your will are revived.
This automatic revocation only applies if you are really divorced, not if you are just separated, and not if your divorce is not yet final.
Although the automatic revocation of dispositions to your spouse may seem to do the trick, they can wreak havoc on an estate plan and create unintended consequences. You may intend to benefit your former spouse even after your divorce with life insurance or some other asset, but the beneficiary designation is automatically revoked upon your divorce. Additional steps must be taken to ensure that designation will stick after the divorce occurs.
After a divorce, revising your will is essential to remove your former spouse (or include them, if you want to provide for your former spouse) and make any other necessary changes, such as updating your named Personal Representatives.
All this is to say that significant life events, whether through marriage or divorce, can dramatically alter your estate plan and result in unintended consequences. By proactively revising your will and other estate planning documents when these events happen, you can ensure that your estate is handled according to your wishes and that your loved ones are provided for as intended.
Attorney Brittany Hinojosa Citron is an associate attorney with the Dedham, Massachusetts, firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information or to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys, please call 781-461-1020.
July 2024
© 2024 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC
Love Stinks (Sometimes): A Case for Pre-Nups and Lifetime Trust Shares
It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air! Here’s hoping that all of you have a love – of a spouse, partner, parent, child or friend – worth celebrating. Although estate planners are romantics at heart, we know that love of the romantic kind doesn’t always work out. Unfortunately, when this happens, it can sometimes impact other things that are important – like our assets. Fortunately, there are things that can be done from an estate planning perspective to protect our assets, if not our hearts, from the impact of a failed romance.
If you are getting married, or if you have a child who is planning to get married, a pre-nuptial agreement should be considered. A prenuptial (or premarital) agreement is a contract between two people who are planning to marry, by which they agree in advance to a division of their assets in the event of divorce or death. Pre-nuptial agreements are not only for the wealthy. They can go a long way toward protecting assets and future financial security against the possibility of a failed marriage. These agreements are especially important for people who come into the marriage owning assets they want to protect in the event of divorce. For young couples, this may be a house purchased by one member of the couple prior to the marriage. For others, this may be an interest in a family business, vested stock options from an employer, or an ownership interest in a family vacation home. If you have assets you would not want to be part of the
“pot” to be divided between you and your ex-spouse by a judge during a divorce proceeding, then it’s worth having a prenuptial agreement to protect that asset.
Prenuptial agreements are not just for first marriages, and not just to protect assets in the event of divorce. Those who have been married before may have children from a prior relationship. If two people who have children from prior relationships decide to marry, they may enter into a pre-nuptial agreement that not only protects each spouse’s assets in the event of a divorce, but also prevents the new spouse from claiming any interest in the estate of the deceased spouse if a spouse dies during the marriage. In this way, the deceased spouse is assured that his or her assets can be left to the deceased spouse’s children at death without the threat of interference from the surviving spouse. This can be especially important if the children of the deceased spouse are minors and may need those assets for their support and education. It can be equally important for older children who may be nervous about their potential inheritance being disrupted by a parent’s new spouse. A pre-nuptial agreement will not prevent the couple from leaving assets to each other at death if they wish but will prevent the surviving member of the couple from disrupting the deceased’s estate plan after the fact.
Whatever the motivation for creating a pre-nuptial agreement, the agreement must be created in a way that will ensure it will be enforceable if the parties divorce. Massachusetts courts have established very clear parameters that must be followed for a pre-nuptial agreement to be enforceable if, and when, the time comes for the agreement to do what it was created to do – protect assets. First, when creating and negotiating a pre-nuptial agreement, it is mandatory that both parties have their own attorneys to ensure each party understands how the terms of the agreement benefit and obligate them. Second, a pre-nuptial agreement must be fair both at the time the agreement is signed and at the time it is sought to be enforced. Third, each party must fully disclose his or her assets, including anticipated inheritances, to the other party. Finally, prenuptial agreements must be entered into freely by each party, without coercion or influence from the other party or outside influence. For this reason, courts have found that the agreement must be entered into far enough in advance of the wedding that neither party feels coerced into signing.
In addition to romantic partners protecting their own assets, we hear a lot of concern from our clients who are parents about protecting assets their children may inherit from them, and what would happen to those assets if a child divorced. A pre-nuptial agreement is a great first line of defense to protect inherited assets. The agreement can provide that any assets a party inherits during the marriage or may inherit in the future should not be considered during property division in the event of the couple’s divorce. For many couples (and their parents), a prenuptial agreement that is narrowly tailored to protect inherited assets may provide peace of mind that family wealth will not be at risk if the marriage does not work out.
If a pre-nuptial agreement is not a possibility, there are a couple of other estate planning cards a parent can play to protect assets on their own. Disinheriting a child who may be married to a problematic spouse or who is headed for divorce is always an option, but not a great one, especially because most parents are concerned about their child’s long-term well-being. A lifetime trust share for the benefit of the child is a better way to protect inherited assets. A parent can create a trust that at their death continues to hold the trust assets in trust for the benefit of their child. The Trust can provide even greater asset protection if the Trustee has discretion to distribute trust assets not just to the child, but also, perhaps to the child’s children or siblings. The purpose of these trust shares is to provide the child with less control over and access to their inheritance from a legal and practical perspective, which in turn provides protection against a child’s creditors, including a divorcing spouse. Although the protection offered by lifetime trust shares is be impacted by the identity of the Trustee, the way the Trust is administered, and the state in which the beneficiaries reside, these shares are a great tool to increase the protection of inherited assets in the event of divorce.
A prenuptial agreement is something to consider if your assets or circumstances are such that you want added assurance that no matter how matters of the heart may go, the things you care about will be protected. Whether or not a prenuptial agreement is in the cards, consider other estate planning options, like lifetime trust shares, to provide protection. As always, we are here to provide advice and counsel on these and all other estate planning matters. For matters of the heart, you will need to seek advice elsewhere.
Maria Baler, Esq. is an estate planning and elder law attorney and partner at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC, a law firm based in Dedham. She is also a former director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA), and a past President of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys. For more information, visit www.ssbllc.com or call (781) 461-1020. This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney.
February 2024
© 2024 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC
Five Ways Matters of the Heart Intersect with Estate Planning
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and our thoughts turn to reminding those we love how much we care about them. However, sometimes our relationships don’t always go as planned. Either way, it’s important that your estate plan keeps pace with your love life. Here are five ways your estate plan should respond when love is grand, or when love stinks.
1. Show your Love with a Good Estate Plan
Estate planning is about making sure the people you care about will be taken care of if something happens to you. Estate plan documents provide a roadmap for your family, naming decision-makers and people who are in charge of settling your estate following your death, and making sure your assets get to the people you wish to receive them. If you have young beneficiaries or those who can’t properly manage assets for themselves, your estate plan can make sure they are taken care of after your death, naming guardians for minor children, and creating trusts to make sure assets are properly managed and applied for young or immature beneficiaries. Your loved ones will remember you fondly if you leave a well-planned estate.
2. Ensuring Continued Support for Parents or Other Relatives
If you provide support to your parents or other older relatives, planning for their continued support if something happens to you is something you may not consider because you do not expect to predecease them. However, if you do, and if the support you provide is crucial to their well-being, your plan should make provisions for their continued support. An important part of planning for aging relatives is making sure any money left to them is left in trust, in a way that will not impact needs-based public benefits they may be eligible to receive to pay for their care. A trust will also insure that after your older relatives pass away, the remaining funds are distributed to people you choose.
3. When Love Goes Wrong
Unfortunately, relationships are not always all chocolates and roses. For couples in the midst of divorce proceedings, estate planning should be a priority. An important part of estate planning is naming decision-makers in the event you become incapacitated and cannot make legal, financial or health care decisions for yourself. While a divorce is pending, you should consider updating your Power of Attorney (for legal and financial decision-making) and your Health Care Proxy (for health are decision-making), to make sure people you trust will make those decision for you. Chances are your existing Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy name your spouse as the decision-maker, which may not be the person you want to have that authority under the present circumstances.
If you pass away, your estate plan will determine how your assets are distributed. Because a divorce proceeding, among other things, determines the ownership of a couple’s assets, there are some limitations on this aspect of estate planning while a divorce is pending. During divorce proceedings, an automatic restraining order applies that prohibits either spouse from selling or transferring assets or changing the beneficiary on life insurance and retirement accounts except as permitted by Court order or agreement of the other party. Although asset ownership and beneficiary changes may not be made until after the divorce judgment issues, in the meantime divorcing parties can create updated Wills and Trusts that will distribute their assets as appropriate after their divorce is final, keeping in mind that those instructions may not be effective until the divorce is final.
4. After Your Divorce Is Final
Massachusetts law provides for an automatic modification of an estate plan after divorce, although the result may not be what the divorced person intends. In Massachusetts by law, a divorce judgment revokes any disposition of property to the divorced person’s former spouse, including trust provisions, beneficiary designations as to life insurance and retirement plans, transfer-on-death accounts, and any other revocable disposition. If estate plan documents named the former spouse or family members of the former spouse as a fiduciary – such as a Personal Representative (formerly Executor) or Trustee – those designations are treated as if the former spouse and the former spouse’s relatives predeceased the divorced person. Although these provisions may seem to do the trick, in reality they can wreak havoc on an estate plan and create unintended consequences. In addition, in the event a divorced person intends to or is required by their divorce judgment to benefit their former spouse with life insurance or some other asset, steps must be taken to ensure that designation will stick after the divorce occurs. The law also states that if a financial company is not properly notified of the divorce and it makes a distribution to the former spouse then the company cannot be held liable.
Once a divorce is final, each party should review their existing estate plan and beneficiary designations consistent with the terms of their divorce agreement and with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney and make any changes that may be necessary. For example, for a couple with young children, a Trust may be appropriate to manage a divorced parent’s assets for the benefit of those children if that parent were to pass away during a child’s minority. Naming someone that the parent trusts to manage and apply the Trust assets appropriately for the minor children is of the utmost importance for a single parent. If a Trust is not created, the children’s guardian/conservator will have responsibility for managing any assets inherited by the children, and that person is likely to be the children’s surviving parent. For most divorced couples, the idea that a former spouse will have control over the inheritance left to the children is unsettling and inconsistent with their intentions. An estate plan that addresses divorce-related issues can ensure this does not happen, and that the divorced parent’s wishes will be carried out.
Addressing the continued ownership of real estate that will be retained by one member of a formerly married couple is also important. Although a divorce will sever a tenancy by entirety (the form of joint ownership for married couples) and a divorce agreement or order of the court will determine the title, it is still advisable to have a new deed signed conveying the property into the name of the spouse who is retaining it. No matter how sick and tired you are of dealing with your soon to be ex-spouse, don’t walk away until the i’s are dotted and the t’s’ are crossed and that new deed putting the house in your name is signed and filed with the Registry of Deeds. This will ensure you (and you alone) can sell, mortgage or plan with that property going forward, without the involvement of your ex-spouse.
5. Planning for a New Blended Family
And let’s not forget that many divorced people go on to find love again. Estate planning for blended families is extremely important. Re-marriage brings its own set of estate planning challenges, especially if both parties have children from prior marriages or relationships. In such a case, good estate planning is crucial to ensure that if one member of the new couple dies, his or her children from a prior marriage will be provided for appropriately, while the new spouse or partner is also provided for if they do not have sufficient means of their own. It is unfortunate when, because of poor or neglected planning, all of a parent’s assets pass to the new spouse, who then leaves them to his or her own children or family members at death, leaving the deceased’s children with nothing.
When all is well, planning for death or incapacity may not seem to be a priority which means it can be left on the To Do list forever. When a marriage is ending, there are many things that are a priority, and dealing with multiple attorneys at the same time is not a happy prospect (for most people). But estate planning is an important part of taking care of your loved ones. Whether your situation is simple or complicated, whether your relationships are wonderful or not, taking the time to talk through your situation with an experienced estate planning attorney will provide you with options and strategies to achieve your goals, to protect your family, to give you peace of mind, and allow you to show those you love just how much you care.
Maria Baler, Esq. is an estate planning and elder law attorney and partner at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC, a law firm based in Dedham. She is also a former director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA), and a past President of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys. For more information, visit www.ssbllc.com or call (781) 461-1020. This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney.
February 2023
© 2023 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC
Too Much Togetherness: Divorce and Estate Planning in the Time of COVID-19
Among the tales of unfortunate fall-out from COVID-19 are those I hear from my family law colleagues about the number of couples deciding to divorce. Not surprisingly, three months of home confinement with your spouse will bring some clarity to how compatible two people really are. For those who are going through a divorce or divorce mediation, or those advising them, it is important not to lose sight of the importance of an up-to-date estate plan amidst the emotional and legal challenges a divorce brings.
During divorce proceedings, an automatic restraining order applies that prohibits either spouse from selling or transferring assets or changing the beneficiary on life insurance and retirement accounts except as permitted by Court order or agreement of the other party. Although asset ownership and beneficiary changes may not be made until after the divorce judgment issues, an important interim step for divorcing parties is to create updated Powers of Attorney for legal and financial decision-making, and Health Care Proxies for health care decision-making, so that a trusted individual, and not an estranged spouse, will make those types of decisions in the event of incapacity during the pendency of the divorce.
The law does provide some assistance in “modifying” an estate plan after divorce, although the result may not be what the divorced person intends. In Massachusetts by law, a divorce judgment revokes any disposition of property to the divorced person’s former spouse, including trust provisions, beneficiary designations as to life insurance and retirement plans, transfer-on-death accounts, and any other revocable disposition. If estate plan documents named the former spouse or family members of the former spouse as a fiduciary – such as a Personal Representative (formerly Executor) or Trustee – those designations are treated as if the former spouse predeceased the divorced person. Although these provisions may seem to do the trick, in reality they can wreak havoc on an estate plan and create unintended consequences. In addition, in the event a divorced person intends to benefit their former spouse with life insurance or some other asset, steps must be taken to ensure that designation will stick after the divorce occurs.
Once a divorce is final, each party should review their existing estate plan and beneficiary designations with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney, and make any changes that may be necessary. For example, for a couple with young children, a Trust may be appropriate to manage a divorced parent’s assets for the benefit of those children if that parent were to pass away during a child’s minority. Naming someone that a parent trusts to manage and apply the Trust assets appropriately for the minor children is of the utmost importance for a single parent. If a Trust is not created, the children’s guardian/conservator will have responsibility for managing any assets inherited by the children, and that person is likely to be the children’s surviving parent. For most divorced couples, the idea that a former spouse will have control over the inheritance left to the children is unsettling and inconsistent with their intentions. An estate plan that addresses divorce-related issues can ensure this does not happen, and that the divorced parent’s wishes will be carried out.
And let’s not forget that many divorced people go on to find love again. Estate planning for blended families is just as important. Re-marriage brings its own set of estate planning challenges, especially if the parties have children from prior marriages or relationships. In such a case, good estate planning is crucial to ensure that if one member of the new couple dies, his or her children from a prior marriage will be provided for appropriately, while the new spouse or partner is also provided for if they do not have sufficient means of their own. It is unfortunate when all of a parent’s assets pass to the new spouse, who then leaves them to his or her own children or family members at death, leaving the deceased’s children with nothing.
Whether divorce is a sad event or a welcome new beginning – or maybe both – estate planning is more important than ever during and after a divorce, to avoid unintended results and ensure children and other family members will benefit as you intend.
When Love Stinks – Five Ways Divorce Impacts your Estate Plan
The approach of Valentine’s Day and the recent announcement by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, that he and his wife are ending their marriage after 25 years, set me thinking about how divorce impacts a person’s estate plan (especially in high net worth couples). Here are five ways that divorce can impact an estate plan and actions that should be taken to address that impact on your legacy planning.
- Update your Beneficiary Designations. One of the first things people think about when they split up with their spouse is that they need to change their Will to remove their soon-to-be ex-spouse as a beneficiary of their Will. What is sometimes overlooked is updating beneficiary designations on assets such as retirement accounts, life insurance policies and annuities. While Massachusetts has a statute (MGL c 190B § 2-804) which provides that a divorce revokes a beneficial designation made in favor of a former spouse unless the designation was made pursuant to the divorce, the law also states that if a financial company is not properly notified of the divorce and it makes a distribution to the former spouse then the company cannot be held liable. Keep in mind that changes to assets, including beneficiary designations, may not be permissible while a divorce is pending but should be addressed as soon as the divorce is final.
- Avoid Probate to Avoid Prying. Probate is a public proceeding. One of the requirements of probate is that notice of the filing be published in a newspaper local to the town in which the decedent lived at the time of death. The purpose of this notice is to alert anyone who wants to make a claim against the estate that they have a limited amount of time to do so. It is also an invitation to the nosy to snoop or to the vindictive to cause trouble. Sadly, when love goes bad vengeance can be a byproduct. Wreaking havoc with a probate estate is not that hard. Even if a claimant does not have a valid claim, the prospect of prolonged delay and costs can motivate the Personal Representative of the estate to offer something in settlement. However, if there is no need to file for probate this can be avoided. When no probate is needed there is no publication in the local newspaper and there is no matter pending in the probate court for someone to meddle with.
- Follow through on Deed Changes. When a married couple divorces the disposition of their jointly owned real estate is determined as part of the divorce. Sometimes the property is sold, but often the property will be retained by one of the parties. Although a divorce will sever a tenancy by entirety and a divorce agreement, or order of the court on file in the probate court will determine the title, it is still advisable to actually have a new deed signed conveying the property into the name of the spouse who is retaining it. It is surprising to me how often divorced clients do not take this last step. Good estate planning advice is that no matter how sick and tired you are of dealing with your soon to be ex-spouse, don’t walk away until the i’s are dotted and the t’s’ are crossed and that new deed putting the house in your name is signed and filed with the Registry of Deeds.
- Create a Trust for Minor Children. Even though your Ex is no longer your spouse, he or she is still the parent of your children. In the event you die while you have a minor child, your former spouse is likely to have custody of the children. In addition, your former spouse will have control over your minor child’s assets. That means if you die without a Will, or if you have a Will leaving your estate to your children, it will be your ex-spouse who will have control and custody of your assets that pass to your children until they turn 18. The same is true if you name minor children as the beneficiaries of your life insurance and retirement accounts – those assets will be in the control of your former spouse. If this alarms you, speak with a Wills and Trusts lawyer, and create a Trust that leaves your assets to your children via your Trust in which you will designate someone other than your ex-spouse to manage the assets for your children.
- Update your Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy. Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxies are legal documents in which the maker of the document appoints another person to manage financial affairs and make health care decisions in the event the maker is incapacitated. Most married couples appoint each other to these roles. However, most people would not want an ex-spouse managing their finances or making nursing home or health care decisions for them. Even though Massachusetts law automatically revokes those appointments upon divorce, it is prudent to retrieve all copies of those documents that your former spouse, your physician, or a financial institution may possess and to revoke the documents. Create a new Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy naming people who you want to assume these roles in the event it is necessary.
With apologies to the J. Geils Band, just because Love Stinks while you’re in the midst of a divorce, your estate plan doesn’t have to. If you are recently divorced, contact an experienced estate planning attorney to create or update your estate plan so that the people you care about don’t have to suffer the effects of your divorce again should you fall ill or pass away.
Attorney Suzanne R. Sayward is a partner with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. She is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, a private organization whose standards for certification are not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit www.ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020.
January, 2019
© 2019 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC
Ask SSB
Q: My daughter is going through a divorce and a friend told me that in Massachusetts my son-in-law is entitled to information about MY assets in connection with their divorce – can this possibly be true?
A: Believe it or not, it’s true. In Massachusetts, a divorcing spouse can subpoena the parents of his spouse for information about the size of their estate and the terms of their estate plan to learn about any inheritance his spouse may receive. This is due to the fact that Massachusetts divorce law requires that a judge consider the likelihood that a divorcing spouse will have the opportunity to acquire assets in the future when the judge is deciding how the marital assets of the couple should be divided between them.
The 1990 Massachusetts case which established the right of a divorcing spouse to discover information about the other spouse’s possible inheritance was the Vaughan case. If you are subpoenaed by your son-in-law’s attorney you may be required to submit a ‘Vaughan Affidavit’ which must include:
- the approximate value of your estate
- a general description of provisions of your estate plan which benefit your daughter
- the date that your estate plan was last amended
Although you do not have the legal right to refuse to comply with a subpoena requesting this information, you certainly have the right to create an estate plan which provides protection for your child’s inheritance from the claims of creditors such as a divorcing spouse, a failed business, a bankruptcy, or other lawsuits.
If you are concerned about the vulnerability of your estate to your children’s creditors, including a divorcing spouse, make an appointment to meet with one of our attorneys to discuss the steps you can take to protect your children’s inheritance.
July, 2018
© 2018 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC
Protecting your Child’s Inheritance from the Reach of a Divorcing Spouse
On May 11, our firm’s bi-monthly Smart Counsel presentation focused on the best way to protect the inheritance you will leave to your children from the reach of your child’s spouse in the event of a divorce. There were two parts to our program. First, family law attorneys Barbara Nason and Amy Vaughn spoke about how a good prenuptial agreement can protect a child’s inheritance in the event of divorce. Attorneys Nason and Vaughn shared with attendees the “must-haves” if the prenuptial agreement is going to be effective. These included the requirement that each party have his/her own attorney and that the parties fully disclose their assets, liabilities and expectancies to each other. This means that the parents of the engaged couple need to provide their child with information about the amount the child may expect to inherit.
The second part of the program concentrated on how to protect your child’s inheritance in the event he/she does not have a good prenuptial agreement in place. Attorney Suzanne Sayward advised the audience that leaving assets to your children in trust rather than outright can be an effective way to protect the beneficiary’s inheritance, provided the Trust is properly drafted and administered.
If you are concerned about protecting the inheritance you plan to leave your children from the reach of their creditors, including a potential divorce, call us to schedule a meeting with one of our attorneys to discuss your options.
June 2017
© 2017 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC