Considerations for Older Adults Looking to Marry

Craig Reaves, an attorney in Kansas City, Missouri and former president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, recently answered the following question submitted by a reader of The New Old Age Blog: What legal consequences should older adults consider before marrying?

According to Reaves, older adults should consider many factors ranging for duties of support to issues with property distribution befor marrying. Reaves suggests older couples create a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying, specifying the spouses’ duties to support and the requested disposition of property. However, prenuptial agreements will not protect a spouse when he or she is qualifying for Medicaid.

Older couples who have had previous marriages should also consider the issue of Social Security benefits. When a surviving spouse remarries before turning sixty, the Social Security benefits he or she receives based on the deceased spouse’s former earnings gets cut off. A number of pension plans have similar provisions.

Lastly, older adults looking to marry should update all important legal documents and consider the tax implications for filing a joint-tax return.

In short: Before you marry, consider the impact on your income and assets and consider a prenuptial agreement that protects both of you. After the wedding, update all your estate planning documents — wills, living trusts, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies — to reflect your new marital status and any new decisions you’ve made.

To read Reaves’ complete answer, see Craig Reaves, Ask an Elder Law Attorney: Late-Life Marriages, The New York Times, Jun. 16, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.