My husband and I remarried after 5 years of being divorced. In October 2019, in the course of the time we have been divorced, I bought a house in Louisiana. In March 2020, my ex-husband had a house customized inbuilt Georgia for $445,000; it’s now value $700,000.
In December 2020, we remarried. I contemplated promoting my dwelling in Louisiana and transferring into his dwelling in Georgia. We deliberate to place the $200,000 proceeds from the sale of my home into main additions and transforming of his home. I’ve already added an $8,000 California Closet to the primary bed room of his dwelling. I’ve one grownup son, and my husband has two grownup youngsters.
How do I defend my funding within the aforementioned home if he expires or we divorce once more? I additionally wish to be truthful to our kids, if one thing occurs after we each expire. He has urged we depart a will so the children can cut up the property 3 ways.
What are my greatest choices? Here are 4 I’m contemplating: 1) placing my identify on the deed, which he’s keen to do; 2) acquiring a transfer-on-death deed; 3) leaving a will (which will be modified — right?); and 4) avoiding probate altogether.
Should I search steerage from a monetary adviser or a Georgia divorce lawyer? Thank you a lot. Have a blessed day!
Second Time Around
“Tread with caution before selling it and commingling your assets with your husband’s, regardless of how you go about this.”
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Dear Second Time Around,
History has a horrible behavior of repeating itself.
The most secure and most clear technique to personal a property collectively is for you each to be on the deed of the house, in addition to on the mortgage, and to jot down a postnuptial settlement dictating what occurs to your property must you divorce once more. If you determine to do that, it’s best to agree on the kind of co-ownership settlement you enter into. Georgia has three most important varieties of homeownership: sole possession, joint tenants and tenancy in frequent.
With joint tenancy with proper of survivorship, you’d every personal an equal 100% share of this property, and if one in all you died, the opposite would assume full possession. With tenancy in frequent, there isn’t a survivorship rule, and you may personal a sure share of the property — that’s, if you’re investing $200,000 in a property valued at $700,000, you might determine to take a 28.6% possession curiosity on this dwelling. If you divorced, I don’t see how that will serve both of you.
Georgia is an equitable-distribution, quite than a community-property, state, and Louisiana is one in all 9 community-property states within the U.S. But something you acquired earlier than the wedding remains to be usually handled as separate property in each locations. In Georgia, for instance, property that you’ve got acquired throughout your marriage might be handled equitably, if not all the time equally. But you’ve been by means of divorce as soon as earlier than, so that you’re on top of things on this.
In Louisiana, property acquired in the course of the marriage are cut up equally, until you’ve a prenuptial settlement specifying in any other case, or you might be topic to a court docket order that may distribute marital property in one other approach. Regardless of whether or not you reside in Louisiana or Georgia, for those who make investments $200,000 in your husband’s dwelling, you’ll have commingled that asset — that’s, turned it from separate property into marital property. Your query is how it’s best to commingle your property, not if it’s best to do it.
Divorce versus dying intestate
Let’s run by means of your choices as you see them: 1) Putting your identify on the deed (and the mortgage) can be a very good begin, if he’s keen to cede 50% of this property to you. 2) A transfer-upon-death deed is revocable, and will be amended or revoked in the course of the individual’s lifetime. 3) A will, as you recommend, can be topic to alter. And 4) you’d keep away from this property going by means of probate for those who pursued the primary choice and put your identify on the deed.
I ponder whether your point out of a “divorce attorney” was a Freudian slip. What for those who do divorce? Would you be proud of having to separate this property? Your house is your sanctuary and a supply of economic stability. Tread with warning earlier than promoting it and commingling your property together with your husband’s, no matter the way you go about this. And, sure, all the time make monetary selections with the recommendation of an adviser and a family-law legal professional.
Another attainable state of affairs: Your husband dies intestate, which means with out a will. “Suppose the real estate does not explicitly state that it is owned as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. In that case, it is assumed to be held as tenants in common, and according to the Georgia inheritance law, it may need to go through the probate process to be appropriately transferred to heirs or beneficiaries,” in line with the Georgia Probate Law Group.
Don’t make authorized or monetary selections in a vacuum. Ask your self why you divorced the primary time round. Yes, individuals have remarried the identical individual and had it work out (see Judy Sheindlin, aka Judge Judy, and Jerry Sheindlin), whereas others have discovered they’ve the identical — or completely different — issues the second time round (see Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton). Maybe your husband has modified, or perhaps you’ve modified. I hope this time works out for each of you.
Just please consider what I mentioned about historical past.
You can electronic mail The Moneyist with any monetary and moral questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and observe Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform previously generally known as Twitter.
The Moneyist regrets he can’t reply to questions individually.
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