Page 11 - Leisure Living Magazine August 2019

Late In Life Love
By Elizabeth Skrinak, CFP®, True Alpha Wealth Management, Liz@truealphawm.com
If you have found your for- ever soulmate in the latter part of your life, there are many factors to consid-
er if you want to take
your relationship to the
next level. Sometime
our emotions, expec-
tations, family, morals
and religion can have an
influence on our decisions.
I would ask that you consid-
er the not-so-romantic topics that
affect your financial life such as Social
Security benefits, income taxes, estate issues, pensions, and survivor pensions.
Let’s not forget alimony payments, annuity payouts, IRA required minimum distributions, worker’s compensation death benefits, not to mention long term care obligations, medical payments and insurance, outstanding debts, college tuition and college aid. This is much to think about but worth taking the time to do some pre-planning.
A few examples of how pre-planning can make a difference:
A young widow (not disabled) was contem- plating marrying again at the age of 55. After developing a financial plan, it was recommend- ed that she wait until after she turned age 60 to remarry. Why? Because she was eligible for survivor benefits starting at age 60 on her late spouse’s Social Security record. But if she remar- ried before age 60 she would lose those benefits.
Another couple, who had been cohabitat- ing together for over 2 years, lived in the sole- ly-owned home of one of the partners. They wanted to downsize. The couple decided to tie that knot after their Certified Public Accountant explained how much they would save in taxes on the gain of the sale of the home by using the larger exclusion afforded to married couples.
A widow of a first responder, who had died in the line of duty, was advised that she would lose all of the worker’s compensation death ben- efits she was entitled to if she were to remarry.
In her partic- ular situa-
tion, cohabitating was the best choice.
A partner with pen- sion benefits, who was still working, decided
to marry his longtime love after it was explained to them that, as a married couple,theycouldelectajoint payout over both of their lives. By consulting a Certified Financial PlannerTM, they were able to preserve
and extend the pension benefits.
A couple, who had known each other all their lives, found themselves widowed in their very late 80’s. Against advice from advisors and family but for moral reasons, they decided
Continued on page 12
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