Charles Horansky and Gloria Masters are seldom apart. At Hanover House nursing home, they are considered an item.
“Nothing serious. We are just friends,” Masters, 71, is quick to point out.
“We just enjoy each other’s company,” said Horansky, 87. “I’m too old for anything else!”
Keeping their relationship the way it is may be a good thing, according to estate planners. In their case, neither has children or grandchildren to be concerned about. Masters does have siblings and Horansky has nieces and nephews. So what would happen if the two of them decided to get more serious? That depends on how they have their finances set up.
The American Association of Retired Persons recommends thinking about your will before marrying a second time.
“If you marry late in life or for a second time, think about how your second marriage will affect your estate plan,” notes the AARP’s Web site. “What part of your estate will go to your heirs? What part will go to your new spouse? Your loved ones and your new spouse may be wondering about these issues. A prenuptial agreement can help settle these matters early.”
A prenuptial agreement is a written contract that you and your future spouse sign before your marriage. It explains who owns what assets. “If you divorce or when you die, the prenuptial agreement can
protect the inheritance of your children from a previous marriage. It can also prevent your spouse from successfully challenging your will or any existing trusts,” according to AARP.
“We always tell people that if you are going to marry a second time or later in life, please get a prenuptial agreement,” said Sandra Cleaver, an attorney and chairwoman of the Stark County (Ohio) Elder Law Committee. “They (the couple) need to have an agreement they enter into before the marriage, setting forth what each of them have in assets and agreeing to keep them separate so their respective families inherit them. It works great, because it provides the family with the comfort that they are not going to give Grandma’s antiques to children of a second marriage that they never met.”
However, Cleaver said, the prenuptial agreement is not honored by Medicaid. “Medicaid totally ignores the fact you have a prenuptial agreement and requires that all the assets of the husband and the wife be included to determine if it is available for the care of either person.”
Nursing homes do not permit their residents to cohabitate unless they are married, Cleaver said. “That is an incentive for people who are enamored of each other to be married, so they can have a roommate permanently. The problem is that the cost of long-term care is so expensive that if you do marry, you are legally obligating yourself to that other person’s nursing home care.”
Another issue, she said, is that you cannot disinherit your spouse. A couple can agree through a prenuptial agreement not to be part of the other’s estate, but without that agreement, whether they were married for a day or 50 years, the spouse is entitled to half of the descendant’s net estate, she said. Among the assets the surviving spouse has a right to without a prenuptial agreement are the house, allowance for support and up to two automobiles. However, the children of the deceased are not obligated to pay for the remaining person’s care.
Clever recommends that the children of couples considering marriage later in life encourage their parents to get a prenuptial agreement. Even with a power of attorney, children cannot prevent their parent from remarrying, but they can encourage it.
The only way children can prevent their parents from marrying or force them to sign a prenuptial agreement is to have them declared incompetent and put them under a court guardianship, said Cleaver.
“It is a tender, sweet thing to see romances between older people blossom. You want them to be happy in their later years,” said Cleaver. “Unfortunately, there is good and bad in everything.”