Retirement, Estate Planning, and Marriage After 60

If you are over 60 and looking to tie the knot again, then it may be in your best interest to include estate planning in your list of wedding to-dos. Couples that are over 60 and looking to blend their lives need to take precautions for the future that younger couples wouldn’t need to make. These include planning for the unfortunate death of a loved one and making sure that you are ready should your new spouse pass away before you do. According to a financial advisor with Lexington Capital Management, it is important for spouses over 60 to include a prenuptial agreement in their marriage documents. This isn’t because there is a high chance that they will divorce. Rather, it is because it is increasingly possible that one spouse might be left behind. A prenuptial can help to govern assets in the case of a debilitating illness or a surviving spouse.

According to financial planners, making plans for your estate at the outset of your marriage will help to strengthen your relationship with your spouse. Your love for one another will blossom and you won’t need to worry about confusing disputes in the future. Another aspect you will want to look into when getting married late in life is Social Security. According to Bankrate, you will want to look into various issues related to social security and your marriage, especially if one or both of you have been married before. Widowers that are over 60 have the option to collect survivor’s benefits or draw benefits that are based on their own income and that of a new spouse. Yet if the wedding takes places before a surviving spouse’s 60^th birthday then she loses the surviving spouse benefits option. The payments can also be affected if the bride or groom is over 65. These age brackets may help you as you plan the date of your wedding.

BankRate suggests that anyone who is planning to marry after 60 talk to a financial advisor to learn more about the rights that they are entitled to. You wouldn’t want to miss out on Social Security opportunities because of a discrepancy in dates or income earnings. You will also want to take a good look at your will after you get married and determine whether or not you want to change your beneficiaries. The CEO of Investor Solutions in Miami says that this step is critical. You should change beneficiaries on your life insurance policies, pension plans, 401(k) plans, annuities, and IRAs. You may also need to change the POD clauses on some of your brokerage accounts. When seniors get married, they often have to sort out the details of ownership early in their union. This is because older people have accumulated a lot more stuff. They should declare what property is theirs and what property is their spouse's right out of the gate because of the possibility of illness or death later on.

You will also want to establish who owns the home that you are living in. If you choose to jointly own the home, then you will want to file it in this way. You should also determine whether or not you should retitle your cars, and who should be responsible for any debts that are brought into the marriage. With 60 years of asset accumulation to divide, it’s never too early to start preparing for the future. You should also sit down with your spouse and discuss what you would expect should you become ill or unable to make your own medical care decisions in the future. This is because your spouse will be deciding these choices for you in the future if you are not able to do so. Talk to a probate lawyer if you need more information about estate planning in the wake of a 600 or older marriage.