OT: Title and blended families

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Submitted by threadkiller on January 3, 2009 - 5:32pm

Not totally sure if this is off topic but just in case.

Ok I/We will be buying a house and the wife(married 5 years) wants to put the house in "Community Property with right of survivor ship" and I want just plain "Community Property". My reason is I want to be able to will my interest to my teenage son (from a previous relationship) down the road if I want to. She feels like the purchase should just be between us two. I am putting 10% more into the house than she is, down payment, closing costs, etc. I feel that I would be betraying my son by not protecting his inheritance. She has already stated he is on his own at 18. Opinions? How do others with blended families hold title?

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Thread,, You may want to get
Submitted by HLS on January 3, 2009 - 7:39pm.

Thread,,
You may want to get legal advice. I am not an attorney.

My understanding is that with CP or CP W/ROS your interest can ONLY be conveyed upon death.
In the case of a disability or long term health issues, your desires may not be met.

Another option is Tenants in Common which allows each of you to own a certain undivided interest and conveyed separately at any time.

Last thing is that CP isn't recognized in all states but Joint Tenancy is.

This is one of the joys of
Submitted by fredo4 on January 3, 2009 - 8:42pm.

This is one of the joys of remarriage when you have kids I'm afraid. Is there any kind of compromise that can be made between the two options you mentioned?
I'm just saying this so you can protect your son, while helping your wife to save face-- as she's probably looking at this as you distrusting and/or rejecting her.
Bottom line IMO is that you have to protect your son.

A friend of mine and her
Submitted by seattle-relo on January 4, 2009 - 9:19am.

A friend of mine and her husband (who also has a teenage son from a previous marriage) have had the same type of issues regarding inheritance, property, etc...so what they did was had the husband take out a seperate life insurance policy where his son is the only beneficiary to address the husband wanting to make sure his son got some inheritance and the wife to feel comfortable about her future if he should die before her. I recommend you speak with an attorney, since blended marriages are not at all uncommon these days, I would bet that an experienced attorney would have some creative solutions.

Gotta agree with HLS here.
Submitted by SD Realtor on January 4, 2009 - 10:37am.

Gotta agree with HLS here. You also seem to be restricting the discussion to the home. I would presume that as you guys go through life together there will be more assets that you accrue. You will run into the same situation with those assets as well.

This is much more of a legal issue then it is a real estate issue.

I would sit down with an attorney and review all of the options. Another option to consider is a trust. I will not go into details here but look at the big picture and don't restrict the conversation to just the home.

You definitely need to sit down and discuss who makes what and who gets what when there is a death in the family. Consider one of you passing away verses both of you passing away as well. What happens if you die and the widow then remarries? What does your child get?

You see what I mean?

I love seattle relos
Submitted by temeculaguy on January 4, 2009 - 11:31am.

I love seattle relos suggestion of taking out a life insurance policy on you with just your son as the beneficiary, that seems perfect.

I think a living trust is in
Submitted by Veritas on January 4, 2009 - 6:07pm.

I think a living trust is in order to spell everything out and a life insurance policy. I also disagree with the son being on his own at 18. Most kids are not ready to take care of themselves at that age and what about college or trade school. She sounds kind of one way to me.

I'd highly recommend going to
Submitted by sdduuuude on January 5, 2009 - 10:36am.

I'd highly recommend going to a trust workshop so you can both learn about how to do this properly. It opens your eyes to inheiritance law and you will surely think differently about these things after you go. If you are even considering community property, then I'm sure you will be shocked at what you learn in such a workshop. They are usually free.

I'm sure there are many good workshops in town. I used Walters and Ward in Rancho Bernardo and the workshop was superb.

Seattly relo had a very good
Submitted by CA renter on January 5, 2009 - 5:52pm.

Seattly relo had a very good suggestion, but one should also caution that insurance companies are part of the financial mess -- including the derivatives that are at the center of the problem. One never knows for sure if the insurance company will be able to pay the claim.

I would also strongly recommend you talk to an attorney. Quite frankly (this goes to anyone else thinking about remarriage when there are existing children), you should have talked to an attorney BEFORE getting married.

That being said, talk to an attorney, especially one who specializes in estates and trusts. There are options with trusts where if you pass away, your "half" of the property goes into another trust that goes to your son. You can make all kinds of stipulations, like the wife gets to live there until she passes away or sells, and then the property goes to your son, etc. Lots of options, and you should explore every one **with an attorney.**

Best of luck to you and your family!