“I will leave the inheritance of $ 1 million I received from my parents to my biological daughters.” (Photons are models.) – Getty Images/Istockphoto
I have been married to my second wife for 10 years. I will leave the inheritance of $ 1 million I received from my parents to my biological daughters. Everything else goes to my wife first or, if she is not around, is divided evenly between my thyme and my biological children.
My wife told me that if I died in front of her, she plans to leave everything – the rest of our mansion – to her two children, who are my young people. She claims that my biological children will have already received a large part that I pass on to them from my deceased parents. Is this fair?
The second spouse
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How your community ownership is divided will depend on who dies first, unless you both agree to write a confidence agreement. – illustration of Marketwatch
Your inheritance, your choice.
Your property of the Community, the choice of the surviving spouse.
The inheritance of spouse is considered a separate property. So it is fair to leave it to your own biological children, if this is what you want to do. The community or marriage acquired during marriage go to the surviving spouse. They can do whatever they want with him. Your wife has clarified her plans. If she dies before you do it, her children could have a problem because you plan to divide the mansion four ways, reducing the heritage of your young people.
So how the ownership of your community is divided will depend on who dies first – unless, of course, you do not reach an agreement and decide to write a confidence agreement. A qualified conclusion of interest in interest rate or QTIP Trust is not uncommon in second marriages. AB’s confidence is another option: the confidence “A” is canceled and holds the assets of the surviving spouse, while the confidence “B” is irrevocable and holds the assets of the deceased spouse.
For assets that do not trust, you can specify your children as beneficiaries or create death transfer cases. However, you should avoid putting their names directly on the cases to ensure that they can take advantage of the step where they will pay the capital tax based on the value of the fair market of the asset at your death, not on the basis of the initial purchase price. An advisor will help you structure your trust or trust. You can also use life insurance policies as a way of leaving your children a inheritance to your children.
You can also make gifts without taxes for your children during your life. The exemption from property for internal revenue from property taxes when transferring wealth during a person’s life and after their death is $ 13.99 million per person for 2025. The annual exclusion for gifts is $ 19,000 for 2025; It is double that for marriage pairs. But unless the Congress takes action, this release is planned to return to the previous level of $ 5 million in 2026.
It is a pity that you and your wife see things differently when it comes to who will inherit your marital property, but at least you are honest with each other about your plans. Your wife, for example, does not promise to separate the ownership of your community four ways and then wait until you go to give it to your two children. This seems to happen – in the pages of this column, at least more times than I have had hot dinners.
This reader, for example, said that his stepmother, who had been with her father for 25 years, was leaving everything to his two children. “I had a wonderful relationship with my father as well as my stepmother,” he writes. “Unfortunately, she does not see him in the same way as I.
The truth is that there is no correct or wrong answer. Life is not always built on justice. Rather, it is built on relationships, alliances and subjective decision-making on who deserves what. Your two children, whatever happens, will be a collective legacy of $ 1 million. This is not a bad result. Millions of adult children end with some of that, no inheritance or property that has more debt than assets. It seems that you and your wife cannot agree friendly.
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Previous columns from Quentin Fottrell:
My husband will inherit $ 180,000. I think we need to invest the money. He wants to pay off his $ 168,000 mortgage. Who is right?
I am at a loss: my boyfriend for almost 10 years calls his elderly parents as beneficiaries and gives them a power of attorney. Am I right to be upset?
“We have no premarital agreement”: Will my wife be able to take my money if I transfer it to my retirement account?
