‘He plans to leave me a life estate in the condo and the ability to receive rent from his properties’
We have been married for 10 years. We’re 70 and 73 and finally preparing to write our wills.
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‘It kind of takes the joy out of cruising.’ Some Norwegian Cruise Line passengers balk at new food-and-drink policies.
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‘We have been married for 10 years’: My children will get my estate — not my husband, who has $1.3 million. Is that fair?
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We’re in our 70s. How do we withdraw $6 million from our retirement fund without getting killed on taxes?
What is a fair and reasonable plan? I have $30,000 in stocks and shared ownership of a house in another state which, if sold, would net me $125,000. I receive a pension of $1,200 per month. My second husband owns our home and has two rentals totaling $1 million, plus $300,000 in savings and a $200,000 Porsche in storage. His income is three times mine.
I have two adult children and he has one from whom he had been estranged. He has recently been diagnosed with early stage blood cancer. He plans to leave me a life estate in the condo and the ability to receive rent from his properties, and leave everything else to charity, including the properties after I die. If I die first, he will receive only my pension for the rest of his life, while my children will get everything else.
Does this sound reasonable?
The Wife
Related: My husband liquidated his IRA without my knowledge prior to our divorce. Is this legal?
It’s not only fair and reasonable, it’s transparent and logical.
Your second husband does not need more money. He’s in his 70s with a paid-off home, rental properties and Social Security. You don’t mention whether he has any retirement accounts, but if he has a $200,000 Porsche in his garage, I’m assuming he’s doing well financially. He is doing the decent thing by leaving you a life estate, while ensuring that his estate goes to causes he believes in. That’s his right. And it is your right to leave your modest estate to your own children, who may then be able to put that money toward homes of their own, or invest in an S&P 500 SPX index fund, or top up their own retirement accounts. That’s the short answer.
Here’s the long one: Aside from your pension and Social Security, your income appears to be derived mostly from real estate. Stocks tend to have a better long-term return on investment, but someone who purchased properties at the bottom of the market 15 years ago — which may include you and your husband — will also be doing quite nicely. While being a landlord is not for the faint of heart, you benefit from rental income, appreciation and tax deductions. If your husband did die before you, you could hire a property manager, if you don’t already have one, while maintenance costs and taxes would likely be your responsibility.
