5 Most Common Legal-Financial Mistakes for Women ?

5 Most Common Legal-Financial Mistakes for Women ? Are financial, legal and estate planning errors gender based? Who knows, but there are some recurring themes which some experts say may affect women more than men, particularly in the worlds of divorce and inheritances. While we are still waiting for equal pay for equal work, perhaps it should also be recognized that there may be some more work to do when counting dollars in divorces and deaths.  Yes, the worlds of finance orestate planning reveal how the unsuspecting and trusting can get short changed.  As a veteran litigator who represents spouses and ex-spouses and family members in probate and property disputes, I’ve seen this happen.   Here are 5 common legal – financial mistakes to avoid or 5 issues to be aware of:

• No Staggered Prenup. Many couples, especially second marriages, sign a contract which pre-divides property in the event of divorce or death. That’s fine and dandy but…..what if the marriage works out? Many prenups say “You take nothing of mine.” OK, that’s understandable, but what if you age together and you and your spouse love each other and want to take care of each other? Some good marriages start off arms-length and get great: but for the prenup which leaves nothing to the other, and whose terms are not intended when the marriage actually lasts. Your fear of divorce subsides and you end up relying on each other, especially as ailments, sicknesses and old age bring on physical, mental and medical challenges. You need to change the prenup so the other spouse is not left with “nothing of mine”, but many people don’t. A better approach is, from the get-go, to sign a prenup which gives the other “nothing” if the marriage only lasts a short time, say 1-3 years. If the marriage works out, you get more for each year of marriage.
• Inheritance Rights. Most spouses don’t realize  or understand what their inheritance rights are and they end up giving them up in a prenup or not enforcing them in a probatewhen the other dies. These rights which many states give only to a spouse can be valuable: rights to a home, retirement accounts, personal property, joint accounts, and unique and confusing property interests known as “homestead”, “family allowance”, “elective share.” Did you know that some states give a spouse a guaranteed 30-50% inheritance of the other spouse’s estate just for getting married?   The length of the marriage (duration: how long the marriage lasted) does not even matter.  You get married in Vegas at midnight by Elvis and your new spouse is killed crossing the Vegas strip two minutes later?  You get a guaranteed inheritance just from being the spouse ! (As long as there’s no prenup).
• Retirement Account Rights. Increasingly, one of the biggest assets for American couples is their IRA or 401(k) or other retirement accounts. Federal law says you can’t name a non spouse as beneficiary of your retirement account unless the spouse consents in writing. ForIRAs and other retirement plans, you may want to read the plan documents to see if the plan creates rights for the spouse. If a spouse is asked to sign a consent form for a different beneficiary, know what you are signing and giving up.
• Ex-spouses Creditor Rights. If you divorced and signed a marital settlement agreement dividing property, or got a divorce judgment, you may be entitled to property of your ex-spouse. Even after death.  While alimony payments typically end at death, marital settlement agreements or divorces often create property interests which extend past death. Did your ex not fund the life insurance policy he was supposed to? Or not re-title joint bank accounts or assets to your name when he was ordered to? How about your minor children: was your ex supposed to set aside money for their education and he didn’t? If so, or if you had rights under a prenup, and your ex spouse dies: you are a creditor of his estate. Don’t delay: open the probate and enforce your rights. Since most states give creditors a small window to make a claim, time is not on your side.
• Quantify Your Property Interests. Many times, whether before marriage with a prenup, during a divorce, or after the death of a spouse or ex spouse, there is a dispute over money: especially if your marriage is a second or third marriage. Your spouse’s adult children from a prior marriage smell money and want blood — the step children often litigate with the last spouse. Understand completely what your best day in court is and what your worst is. Quantifywhat you are fighting over — how much — and what you may get , lose on, give up or settle on. If you are willing to waive an interest in the family business, what might that private concern look like if it goes public in 5 years? What will that vacant real estate look like in 10 years? Or that small “cottage” at that up and coming western ski town? In probate, if you lose, you can end up paying attorneys fees to the other side. So don’t fight to fight. What’s your measure of damages or recovery? Consider damage experts, top notch appraisers and, oh yes…. Serious and experienced litigators and negotiators.