Marrying in early retirement - are my assets always mine?

AlmostThoreau

Dryer sheet wannabe
Joined
Oct 18, 2023
Messages
17
Hi All. I retired earlier this year and have been travelling abroad for a few months. During this time I fell in love with a woman I might want to marry and bring to the US. I'll talk to a lawyer in my state about this, and we'll surely get a prenup, but it is generally true that my investment accounts will always be my separate property? I mean my Vanguard IRAs and taxable account. Thanks!
 
IRAs are individual accounts, never a joint account. Plus they can not be merged, as in a husband's IRA cannot be merged with a wife's IRA. Now, whether or not that protects the individual in a divorce, I couldn't say.
 
You need to get the advice from a lawyer because we are not. In a divorce, if you can show that money that you made before marriage is separate property, then those should not be divided up. Money that you make while married is community property in community property states, and hence divided up equally.

Legally, IRAs go to the surviving spouse in death, unless the surviving spouse signs away their rights.

Pre-nup takes care of alot of division of properties, but in death, it may not apply.
 
Last edited:
Do you have heirs that need to be protected in terms of inheritance? If so then you definitely should consider hiring a lawyer to figure this out.
 
The Judge decides what you'll keep and what you won't, not a prenup.

I never put myself in a position for a judge to determine how much I'd pay someone.
 
The Judge decides what you'll keep and what you won't, not a prenup.

I never put myself in a position for a judge to determine how much I'd pay someone.
Not only that, but community property does not always mean a 50 - 50 split is mandatory.
 
To reiterate the points previously made, SGOTI is not a family law attorney and SGOTI is definitely not a trusts & estates specialist attorney. OP may need both of these in his state.
 
I’m sure there’s ways to accomplish a separation of your assets from the marital property. As mentioned, talk to a lawyer in your state and work out the particulars.
 
I'm in California, a community property state. When the long term GF and I decided to get married, we had a lawyer attend to the financial details. In short, property that was mine before the marriage remained mine. Similarly, what was hers remained hers. Anything earned after the marriage became joint property.

See a lawyer.
 
One other consideration: if your spouse needs LTC down the road and wants to qualify for Medicaid (I'm assuming this would be years from now and she might be a citizen), your assets ARE at risk. It was a concern I had when I married my late husband- he' was 65 and I was 50 and all the assets were in my name but if he needed long-term care I was on the hook for it till my assets were at the Medicaid minimum- something like $120-$130K. It's why I'm unlikely to remarry.

I agree- see a lawyer.
 
You need to get the advice from a lawyer because we are not. In a divorce, if you can show that money that you made before marriage is separate property, then those should not be divided up. Money that you make while married is community property in community property states, and hence divided up equally.

Legally, IRAs go to the surviving spouse in death, unless the surviving spouse signs away their rights.

Pre-nup takes care of alot of division of properties, but in death, it may not apply.
Good advice to talk to a trusts and estates lawyer. However, I don't think the bolded part is correct. Rather, you designate the beneficiary of your IRA when you open it and you can change that beneficiary as you wish. The beneficiary can be anyone, not necessarily your spouse.
 
Good advice to talk to a trusts and estates lawyer. However, I don't think the bolded part is correct. Rather, you designate the beneficiary of your IRA when you open it and you can change that beneficiary as you wish. The beneficiary can be anyone, not necessarily your spouse.
Once you are married, your IRA by default goes to your spouse, and your spouse has to fill out a form to agree to any other beneficiary designation.You cannot designate a non-spouse without the consent of a spouse.
 
From what I can learn through searching, that seems to be the case for 401k beneficiaries everywhere, but for IRA beneficiaries it is only the case in certain community property states, not in all states. Another good reason to consult a lawyer with expertise in this area.
 
Once you are married, your IRA by default goes to your spouse, and your spouse has to fill out a form to agree to any other beneficiary designation.You cannot designate a non-spouse without the consent of a spouse.
I would agree with this.
Quite important to have a prenup if you expect to direct the distribution of your assets after death...
 
Get a lawyer.
Understand regardless of pre-nup, and ownership of assets, a judge can and will rule largely how they see fit. Which is not as simple as what some 50=50 rule etc states.

Why get married ?
Seems a lot like the famous, story heard all the time of American in another Country is seen as a meal ticket. Nothing like true love in 2 months time. :facepalm:
 
It's fine to get married again in retirement provided your prospective new spouse has a net worth a notch higher than yours.
Otherwise, think about it a bit first...
 
It's fine to get married again in retirement provided your prospective new spouse has a net worth a notch higher than yours.
Otherwise, think about it a bit first...
Your suggestion is a way of improving your odds, but why risk your wealth in the first place?
 
I think the OP isn’t asking for marriage advice, he’s exploring financial advice.

While we are all SGOTI, our comments and suggestions can help the OP to learn so when they do consult with an attorney they are better prepared.
 
Consult a professional. Someone who knows the laws in your jurisdiction.

This is too important to rely on free advice from strangers on a forum!
 
I hope it works out for you and that you get it right from the start what is hers and what is yours. I wish you the best.
 
Last edited:
Get a lawyer.
Understand regardless of pre-nup, and ownership of assets, a judge can and will rule largely how they see fit. Which is not as simple as what some 50=50 rule etc states.

Why get married ?
Seems a lot like the famous, story heard all the time of American in another Country is seen as a meal ticket. Nothing like true love in 2 months time. :facepalm:
Only marriage will allow the gf to live in this country legally.
 
Not mentioned so far is the impact of "mixing" community property with separate property. It used to be that act would convert separate property into community property.
ONLY a lawyer can tell you if that is still in all states with community property lawas
 
Back
Top Bottom