Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

[newbury]

I'm cynical. Life insurance is to keep my lovely wife from nagging me to death because I don't have life insurance.

 

[JasperFrank]

She has 300K invested, I have 260K invested, Not including the shared property valued at 600K which I did on my own, then changed the title to give her half. Which, by the way, only costed $8 at the county registry of deeds. No kids. Everything is payed off. So we don't think much about life insurance. Numbers change though, and a million dollars just isn't what it use to be. Just wish my wife would write out a Will, which she can't seem to do. Being a grown up involves this. Marriage demands it.

 

[ljjhouser]

Might see if she would like to have a trust - have an attorney handle it. Should be written to suit both of you.

 

[mikester]

She has 300K invested, I have 260K invested, Not including the shared property valued at 600K which I did on my own, then changed the title to give her half. Which, by the way, only costed $8 at the county registry of deeds. No kids. Everything is payed off. So we don't think much about life insurance. Numbers change though, and a million dollars just isn't what it use to be. Just wish my wife would write out a Will, which she can't seem to do. Being a grown up involves this. Marriage demands it.

Refusing to make a will? Go buy that life insurance policy now and don't wait. Separate your bank accounts. Good luck

 

[drssg]

I'm no expert, but I thought that if a married person doesn't have a will, then the default is that the surviving spouse is the beneficiary.

 

[Doughknob]

If you have life insurance, are you assured life?

Hahaha. I once saw an insurance company call themselves 'So and So Life Assurance.' I always wanted to stop in and ask them how they assure my life? I never did, but did eventually find a sure fire way to assure my life.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm no expert, but I thought that if a married person doesn't have a will, then the default is that the surviving spouse is the beneficiary.

Yep. Most times.

Also, having a will makes settling the estate after death go a lot faster for the survivors. You don't have to wait for the probate courts to settle everything out. It is a very considerate thing for someone to do to make out a will to save their family a lot of hassle and footwork.

 

[two_bit_score]

Yep. Most times.

Also, having a will makes settling the estate after death go a lot faster for the survivors. You don't have to wait for the probate courts to settle everything out. It is a very considerate thing for someone to do to make out a will to save their family a lot of hassle and footwork.

If you have anything you want to designate to a specific person or entity you absolutely should have a Will. So many things can be transferred outside of probate though.

 

[Fuddy1952]

She has 300K invested, I have 260K invested, Not including the shared property valued at 600K which I did on my own, then changed the title to give her half. Which, by the way, only costed $8 at the county registry of deeds. No kids. Everything is payed off. So we don't think much about life insurance. Numbers change though, and a million dollars just isn't what it use to be. Just wish my wife would write out a Will, which she can't seem to do. Being a grown up involves this. Marriage demands it.

An attorney we've hired for many years did estate planning for my wife and I which I believe everyone should do and not all that expensive. Each is the beneficiary of the other and each POA & POD (power of attorney, payable on death). Otherwise it can be a hassle (probate, will contested, taxes, etc.).
My Dad passed 6 years ago, he & Mom together almost 70 years, everything jointly owned except some things TIN (tenants in common). Six years and only fairly recently got everything straight by me having everything in Mom's name. Everything.
Untold hours of work by me as her POA, still the county got their $"share".
It pays to have things in order to avoid future hassles and something most people don't want to talk about.

 

[goeduck]

With my Mother in Law, her various Wills over time had her money going 50%, 50% to my wife and her only sister. Her long time attorney had her update her Will every 10 years or so. Every copy had it 50% 50%. We never trusted the sister, she and her husband were always too busy to help out, too busy to take my MIL to appointments, etc. They never really lifted a finger and they never helped get the house cleaned up and ready to sell after the MIL went into a home (she was a hoarder so it was no easy task). They even had their kids ask my MIL for money for trips to Europe, cars, etc.

I suggested to my MIL that she consolidate her money into one investment house which she did. I also suggested that the set the account up as TOD (Transfer on Death) to the two daughters 50% 50% which she did. I had her keep about $30K out of that account separate for funeral expenses, etc. When she finally passed, my wife's sister and husband sprung into action like we never saw before. They wanted control of everything but did not know the MIL's personal advisor so I set up a meeting for the day after the funeral (we were all from out of town). The advisor went over the TOD distribution proceedings and during that meeting the sister and husband became visibly agitated. On a TOD, the money in the account bypasses probate and in this case it was owned 50% 50% the moment the MIL passed.

My god they were pissed, the husband even threatened the advisor. As it turned out they had an attorney from their home town write up a will with the sister and her husband receiving everything under the terms of the "new" will. The MIL had Alzheimer's in her final years and they had her sign the "new" Will unbeknownst to my wife and me. My wife had records of when her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it was prior to the signature. Not that it mattered because of the TOD, but it sure put a damper on their new threats to sue us. My wife had signature authority on the $30K so I had her write out the funeral home check, etc. before the sister could do anything with that account. My wife and her sister each received about $350K. My wife still has hers, the sister does not.

We have not seen them in years and likely never will.