Marital Property Agreements
Clients often kid that nothing says “I love you” like a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. While we are sensitive to client uneasiness regarding pre-nups and post-nups, these martial property agreements can play a vital role in estate planning.
Texas is a community property state. As a result, unique forms of property ownership can arise within a marriage. Without careful and proper planning, these unique ownerships can have significant estate tax consequences, and cause many other complications. These complications are not indicative of your love for your spouse or trust for your spouse’s decisions. Rather, these agreements, like your marriage, represent the culmination of financial consideration and smart planning.
Our asset protection and estate planning attorneys can help you determine whether a martial property agreement is appropriate in your situation. Some common scenarios in which we utilize such agreements include:
- Blended families where the husband and wife have different dispositive provisions in their will or trust;
- A spouse married to an individual with malpractice or other liability exposure due to their profession or business (doctor, lawyer, etc.) seeking ways to protect important financial resources in the event of lawsuit;
- An aging couple wanting to minimize their anticipated estate tax liability by converting community property to separate property or vice versa depending on the situation; and
- A spouse married to an individual receiving Medicaid long-term care benefits wanting to protect against the Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery Program.
Pre-marital plans arise from intelligent and caring decisions, and are not merely self-serving documents. Discussing pre-marital planning and postnuptial agreements with your spouse can be a difficult task. With our help, you can effectively and successfully address the topic and begin building a plan to ensure the continued success of your family. Contact us today.