Seniors In Love: Second (Or Even Third) Marriages….Betty The Bimbo & Biff The Pool Boy

Aug 05, 2013

By Rick Law, Senior Estate Planner and Elder Law Attorney In Aurora, IL

Adults of all ages can become “twitterpated.”  In other words, sometimes adults who have been widowed simply become lonely, which can result in poor choices for the sake of companionship.

Don’t get me wrong; not all second marriages are mistakes or have disastrous outcomes. However, you do have to consider the legal potholes of the second marriage and the blended family. Marriage is “for better or for worse, in sickness or in health,” and this can create problems.

It may be one thing for your dad to tap into the savings to care for your mom, but what about seeing it all spent on your stepmother (wicked or otherwise)?

I have seen the lonely widower befriended by the bubbly but broke single gal who sees that her lifestyle could be greatly improved by marrying said lonely widower. I have seen the widow swept off her feet by the dashing but debt-laden Don Juan. The stories are too numerous to tell, but I often end up working with the children who are watching their parent’s life savings being dissipated (the result of being twitterpated) by the second wife or husband and his or her deadbeat children.

They are fighting for control over the healthcare issues of their biological parent and fighting to take control of the money before it is snatched up by the stepparent and his or her family.

When everyone is healthy, they often believe all their assets are separate and love will conquer all.  But when one of the spouses becomes incapacitated or dies, I can only say that it can get very ugly, very fast.

As I write this, I am involved in a probate case where the surviving third wife and the child of the deceased second wife (stepchild to dad) are trying to raid dad’s estate, which happens to be the family farm.  Dad clearly intended to pass the family farm to his children with wife number one (who passed away many years ago), but wife #3 and stepchild from wife #2 are fighting for “their share”.

The moral of the story is: Twitterpated may equal dissipated.

This is just food for thought for the love-starved widow or widower  -you may be biting off more than you can chew, and more than you family will be able to stomach in the long-run.

If you’re ready to start getting your estate in order and secure your assets for the “worst-case” scenario, please give our office a call at 800-310-3100 or 630-585-5200. Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now.

Sincerely,

Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees

Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.  Our office is conveniently located off I-88 near the Aurora Premium Outlet Mall.  Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!