Examples of Estate Planning Protecting Your Surviving Spouse.

From Our “Ask a Question” Mailbag: “Please give me Examples of Estate Planning Protecting a Surviving Spouse.”

Estate Planning Lawyer Kelly Barse.

Examples of Estate Planning Protecting a Surviving Spouse:

• Example of a Disclaimer Trust protecting your surviving spouse. Mr. Philadelphia had his Estate Planning Lawyer incorporate a Disclaimer Trust in his Will. At Mr. Philadelphia’s death, Mrs. Philadelphia chose to disclaim $500,000 into the protective trust. Mrs. Philadelphia (after a respectful amount of time) then married Mr. Wynnewood.  As it turns out, Mr. Wynnewood was not a nice fellow, and Mrs. Philadelphia later filed for divorce. Mr. Wynewood tried to claim the $500,000 was marital property, but the Family Court Judge ruled against him because the $500,000.00 was never in Mrs. Philadelphia’s name. Follow the link to learn more about Disclaimer Trusts.
• Example of an Insurance Trust protecting your surviving spouse.  Mrs. Philadelphia formed an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust or ILIT to purchase a life insurance policy on her life. Her husband, Mr. Philadelphia, was the trust’s beneficiary. At her death, Mr. Philadelphia was in a bad financial situation and any money he would have received from Mrs. Philadelphia would have passed to his creditors. Instead, the ILIT trustee collected the policy death benefit and used the money to support Mr. Philadelphia until his death. Follow this link if you would like to know more about ILITs. 
• Example of a Contract to Will protecting your surviving spouse. Mr. and Mrs. Philadelphia signed binding Contracts to Will obligating the surviving spouse to leave all assets to their child,  Philly. Mr. Philadelphia died first.  Mrs. Philadelphia later met Mr. Doylestown and changed her will giving Mr. Doylestown the family house. Philly had his Estate Litigation Attorney successfully petition to the court to enforce the binding, Contract to Will and received title to the house.   Follow this link to learn more about Contracts to Will.

In Conclusion: Examples of Estate Planning Protecting a Surviving Spouse.

I hope these Examples of Estate Planning protecting a Surviving Spouse were useful. We are always happy to brainstorm with you about your own, unique situation. 

Let our Estate Planning lawyers help walk you through what can be a confusing process. To begin with, call to speak to one of our experienced estate planning lawyers.  By all means, our lawyers are ready to answer your questions. In fact, feel free to contact our office for a free consultation. Ultimately our goal is to make the process as painless as possible!

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