Estate Planning for People Who Are Too Scared to Tell Their Spouses the Whole Truth About Their Finances

If you have been married to your spouse for decades, you might think that the two of you know everything about each other. The middle-aged awkwardness, where your kids have grown up and you realize that you no longer know your spouse or yourself, is long in the past; by the time you retire, you and your spouse have found a new normal. You have figured out how to be a couple and how to be an individual. You and your spouse don’t micromanage each other about money. The fact that your spouse does not know about your baseball card collection that you have had since you were a child is not a problem; you and your spouse agreed that you would each have a separate bank account in addition to your joint bank account, so it is not your spouse’s business how much money you spend buying baseball cards, and how much you occasionally make selling them. Likewise, it is not your spouse’s business if, even while you stick scrupulously to your grocery budget from your joint bank account and cook all your meals at home, you splurge on a Frappuccino every week on your way home from Zumba class. Bigger financial secrets than that, even if they don’t tank your marriage, can complicate your estate plan. If your spouse does not know the whole truth of your finances, and the thought of your secrets coming out in the wash during probate terrifies you, contact a Dade City estate planning lawyer.

A Bankruptcy Filing Can Free You From Secret Debts

It is possible that your spouse will not find out about your secret debts while you are still alive, but if you still owe them when you die, the probate court will give the creditors a fair chance to collect. This will mean less money for your spouse, and any other beneficiaries of your will, to inherit. Even if the thought of telling your spouse about your debts scares you, discharging your debts in bankruptcy court can stop the debts from following you to probate. An estate planning lawyer can advise you about whether it is better to file for bankruptcy as an individual or jointly with your spouse; both options are available to married applicants.

A Postnuptial Agreement Can Enshrine the Separateness of Some of Your Property

Many long-married couples agree to disagree on certain contentious issues, including some financial ones. If it has been a sore spot that you give your adult children as much money as you do, perhaps you and your spouse have fallen into the habit of not talking about it. A postnuptial agreement can reassure your spouse that his or her share of your property will not go to purposes that displease your spouse, both while both of you are alive and after one spouse dies.

Contact a Florida Estate Planning Attorney

An estate planning attorney can help you face the financial secrets you have been keeping from your spouse, so they do not cause trouble during probate.  Contact The Law Office of Laurie R. Chane in Dade City, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

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