Fong Law Group

從李玟的遺產案看長命契的利弊

When a Social Security Recipient Dies, Survivors May Be Eligible for Benefits

When loved ones pass away, there are lots of considerations, including what happens to their Social Security. The decedent’s payments need to be stopped, but survivor’s benefits may be available to the spouse or, in certain cases, children. 

Social Security benefits stop at death. If a loved one who was receiving Social Security dies, you need to notify the Social Security Administration as soon as possible. Often the funeral home does this as one of its services, but if not, you can notify Social Security by calling 1-800-772-1213 or contacting your local Social Security office. Benefits are not paid for the month the recipient dies and are not prorated. So, even if the recipient dies in the middle or end of the month, Social Security will not pay any benefits for that month. If the Social Security Administration is not notified on time and makes a payment, that payment will have to be returned. 

Death Benefit
Regardless of age or eligibility for survivor’s benefits, surviving spouses are entitled to a one-time lump-sum payment of $255 if they were living with the decedent or collecting benefits on the decedent’s record. If there is no surviving spouse, the payment can be made to a child who qualifies for benefits on the decedent’s record. 

Survivor’s Benefits
In addition to the lump-sum death benefit, certain family members may be eligible to receive monthly survivor’s benefits, including the following:

• A widow or widower age 60 or older (age 50 or older if they have a disability).
• A surviving divorced spouse, under certain circumstances.
• A widow or widower at any age who is caring for the deceased’s child who is under age 16 or has a disability and is receiving child’s benefits.
• An unmarried child of the deceased who is younger than age 18 (or up to age 19 if they are a full-time student in an elementary or secondary school) or age 18 or older with a disability that began before age 22.
• Parents, age 62 or older, who were dependent on the deceased for at least half of their support.

If the spouse has reached full retirement age when the decedent died, then the spouse begins receiving the decedent’s actual benefits. This is true even if the decedent and spouse were divorced, so long as they had been married for at least 10 years. 

While a spouse can claim survivor's benefits as early as age 60, the benefits will be permanently reduced. If the surviving spouse claims benefits between age 60 and full retirement age, he or she receives a reduced percentage of the decedent’s benefits. At age 60, the spouse will receive 71.5 percent of the actual benefits. If the spouse waits to collect, this percentage increases each year until the spouse reaches full retirement age, at which point he or she can receive 100 percent of the actual benefits. A surviving spouse who is age 50 to 59 also receives 71.5 percent of the actual benefits. Spouses caring for a child and the decedent’s dependents receive 75 percent of the decedent’s actual benefit. Dependent parents receive 75 percent each or 82.5 percent if there is only one parent.

If a surviving spouse, including a divorced spouse, remarries before turning age 60, then the spouse is no longer eligible for benefits unless the new marriage ends. Spouses who remarry after age 60 are still eligible for survivor’s benefits. 

For more information about Social Security survivor’s benefits, click here.

Non-Borrowing Spouses of Reverse Mortgage Holders Receive Expanded Protections

The federal government has expanded access to protections for spouses of reverse mortgage holders who are not named in the loan document, allowing more such spouses the ability to stay in their home if the borrowing spouse dies or moves to a care facility. 

A reverse mortgage allows homeowners to use the equity in their home to take out a loan, but borrowers must be 62 years or older to qualify for this type of mortgage. Up until 2014, if one spouse was under age 62, the younger spouse had to be left off the loan in order for the couple to qualify for a reverse mortgage. But couples often did this without realizing the potentially catastrophic implications. If only one spouse's name was on the mortgage and that spouse died, the surviving spouse would be required to either repay the loan in full or face eviction. 

In 2014, the Department of Housing and Urban Development developed a rule that better protected at least some surviving spouses. Under the rule, if a couple with one spouse under age 62 wants to take out a reverse mortgage, they may list the underage spouse as a “non-borrowing spouse.” If the older spouse dies, the non-borrowing spouse may remain in the home, provided that the surviving spouse establishes within 90 days that he or she has a legal right to stay in the home (this could, for example, be an ownership document, a lease, or a court order). The surviving spouse also must continue to meet the other requirements of a reverse mortgage holder, such as paying property taxes and insurance premiums.

While this rule was beneficial to many non-borrowing spouses, it left some out: It applied only to loans taken out after the law became effective in 2014 and did not cover spouses of borrowers who had to leave the home due to medical reasons. In May 2021, the Federal Housing Authority issued a new rule that addresses these issues and expands the protection to the following spouses: 

• All non-borrowing spouses, not just ones whose loans began after 2014 
• Non-borrowing spouses of borrowers who had to move to a health care facility for more than 12 consecutive months 
• Spouses who were in a committed relationship with the borrower at the time of the loan, but were prevented from marrying the borrower due to their genders, provided they eventually married before the borrower’s death

The new rule also eliminates the requirement that non-borrowing spouses demonstrate that he or she has a marketable title or the legal right to remain in the home. 

This rule still does not cover spouses who were not married to the borrower at the time of the loan (except in the case of same-sex marriages that were prohibited at the time). Additionally, the non-borrowing surviving spouse still cannot access the remaining loan balance. 

To read the new rule, click here.

Long-Term Care Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses

Long-term care costs can add up quickly. For veterans and the surviving spouses of veterans who need in-home care or are in a nursing home, help may be available.

The Veterans Administration (VA) has an underused pension benefit called Aid and Attendance that provides money to those who need assistance performing everyday tasks. Even veterans whose income is above the legal limit for a VA pension may qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefit if they have large medical expenses for which they do not receive reimbursement. 

Aid and Attendance is a pension benefit, which means it is available to veterans who served at least 90 days, with at least one day during wartime. The veteran does not have to have service-related disabilities to qualify. Veterans or surviving spouses are eligible if they require the aid of another person to perform an everyday action, such as bathing, feeding, dressing, or going to the bathroom. This includes individuals who are bedridden, blind, or residing in a nursing home.

To qualify a veteran (or spouse) must have a net worth limit of $130,773 (in 2021), which will increase each year with cost-of-living adjustments. But in the case of the VA, this number will include both the applicant's assets and income. It will be indexed to inflation in the same way that Social Security increases. An applicant's house (up to a two-acre lot) will not count as an asset even if the applicant is currently living in a nursing home. Applicants will also be able to deduct medical expenses from their income. This can include Medicare, Medigap, and long-term care insurance premiums; over-the-counter medications taken at a doctor's recommendation; long-term care costs, such as nursing home fees; the cost of an in-home attendant that provides some medical or nursing services; and the cost of an assisted living facility. These expenses must be unreimbursed (in other words, insurance must not pay the expenses). The expenses should also be recurring, meaning that they should recur every month.

There is also a three-year look-back to determine if the veteran transferred assets in order to qualify for benefits. Applicants will have to disclose all financial transactions they were involved in for three years before the application. Applicants who transferred assets to put themselves below the net worth limit within three years of applying for benefits will be subject to a penalty period that can last as long as five years. This penalty is a period of time during which the person who transferred assets is not eligible for VA benefits. There are exceptions to the penalty period for fraudulent transfers and for transfers to a trust for a child who is unable to "self-support."

The VA will determine a penalty period in months by dividing the amount transferred that would have put the applicant over the net worth limit by the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for a veteran with one dependent in need of aid and attendance. For example, assume the net worth limit is $130,773 and an applicant has a net worth of $117,773. The applicant transferred $30,000 to a friend during the look-back period. If the applicant had not transferred the $30,000, his net worth would have been $147,773, which exceeds the net worth limit by $17,000. The penalty period will be calculated based on $17,000, the amount the applicant transferred that put his assets over the net worth limit (147,773-130,773).

Annual Pension Rate (MAPR). Following are the MAPRs for 2021:

Single veteran	$23,238
Veteran with one dependent	$27,549
Single surviving spouse	$14,934
Surviving spouse with one dependent	$17,815

How it works. The amount a person receives depends on his or her income. The VA pays the difference between the veteran's income and the MAPR. John, a single veteran, has income from Social Security of $16,500 a year and a pension of $12,000 a year, so his total income is $28,500 a year. He pays $20,000 a year for home health care, $1,122 a year for Medicare, and $1,788 a year for supplemental insurance, so his total medical expenses are $22,910. Subtracting his medical expenses from his income ($28,500 - $22,910), John's countable income is $5,590. John could qualify for $17,648 ($23,238 - $5,590) in Aid and Attendance benefits.

To find out if you are eligible for Aid & Attendance benefits, contact your attorney.

To apply, contact a VA office near you.

For the VA's Guide to Long-Term Care, click here.

Husbands Usually Don’t Consider Their Wives’ Future When Deciding When to Take Social Security Benefits

The amount of Social Security benefits a surviving spouse receives depends, in part, on when their deceased spouse began claiming benefits. However, husbands usually don’t take survivor’s benefits into account when claiming benefits, according to a recent study, meaning that many widows will needlessly experience a significant drop in income. 

Because women typically live longer than men and men are often the higher earners, most married women will be widowed and will have their income drop below what they need to maintain their accustomed standard of living. Spouses of a worker who has died are entitled to the worker's full retirement benefits once they reach their full retirement age. If the worker delayed retirement, the survivor's benefit will be higher. Husbands have the option of increasing their surviving spouse’s income by delaying Social Security benefits, but according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, most husbands do not take their wives’ future needs into consideration. 

The study looked at whether greater awareness of Social Security Survivor’s benefits would affect claiming decisions. The study found that husbands tend to take more immediate concerns into consideration, such as their health and whether they have another pension, rather than their wives’ Survivor’s Benefits. Giving the husbands information about how they could improve their wives’ financial well-being by claiming benefits later did not change their claiming decisions. 

The study concludes that in order to protect widows, the government should consider providing Survivor’s Benefits in a way that doesn’t tie the surviving spouse’s benefits to the decision of when to claim benefits. As things stands now, however, if you are the higher earner and are nearing retirement, you may want to take into account how your decision on when to claim benefits will affect your spouse if he or she survives you. 

To come up with a plan that will best protect you and your spouse, contact your attorney. 

To read the study, click here. 

Medicaid's Power to Recoup Benefits Paid: Estate Recovery and Liens

Federal law requires the state to attempt to recover the long-term care benefits from a Medicaid recipient's estate after the recipient's death. If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house, it may need to be sold to settle the claim. 

For Medicaid recipients age 55 or older, states must seek recovery of payments from the individual's estate for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services. States also have the option of recovering all Medicaid benefits from individuals over age 55, including costs for any medical care, not just long-term care benefits.

There are a few exceptions. The state cannot recover from the estate of a Medicaid recipient who has a surviving spouse until after the spouse passes away. After the spouse dies, the state may file a claim against the spouse's estate to recover money spent for the Medicaid recipient's care. The state also cannot recover from the estate if the Medicaid recipient had a child who is under age 21 or a child who is blind or disabled.

While states must attempt to recover funds from the Medicaid recipient's probate estate, meaning property that is held in the beneficiary's name only, they have the option of seeking recovery against property in which the recipient had an interest but which passes outside of probate (this is called "expanded" estate recovery). This includes jointly held assets, assets in a living trust, or life estates. Given the rules for Medicaid eligibility, the only probate property of substantial value that a Medicaid recipient is likely to own at death is his or her home. However, states that have not opted to broaden their estate recovery to include non-probate assets may not make a claim against the Medicaid recipient's home if it is not in his or her probate estate.

In addition to the right to recover from the estate of the Medicaid beneficiary, state Medicaid agencies may place a lien on real estate owned by a Medicaid beneficiary during his or her life unless certain dependent relatives are living in the property. The state cannot impose a lien if a spouse, a disabled or blind child, a child under age 21, or a sibling with an equity interest in the house is living there.

Once a lien is placed on the property, if the property is sold while the Medicaid beneficiary is living, not only will the beneficiary cease to be eligible for Medicaid due to the cash from the sale, but the beneficiary would have to satisfy the lien by paying back the state for its coverage of care to date. In some states, the lien may be removed upon the beneficiary's death. In other states, the state can collect on the lien after the Medicaid recipient dies. Check with your attorney to see how your local agency handles this.

There are some circumstances under which the value of a house can be protected from Medicaid recovery. The state cannot recover if the Medicaid recipient and his or her spouse owned the home as tenants by the entireties or if the house is in the spouse's name and the Medicaid recipient relinquished his or her interest. If the house is in an irrevocable trust, the state cannot recover from it.

In addition, some children or relatives may be able to protect a nursing home resident's house if they qualify for an undue hardship waiver. For example, if a Medicaid recipient's daughter took care of him before he entered the nursing home and she has no other permanent residence, she may be able to avoid a claim against his house after he dies. Consult with your attorney to find out if the undue hardship waiver may be applicable.

Maximizing Social Security Survivor's Benefits 取得社會安全遺屬最大的利益 (中英對照)

Social Security survivor's benefits provide a safety net to widows and widowers. But to get the most out of the benefit, you need to know the right time to claim. 

While you can claim survivor's benefits as early as age 60, if you claim benefits before your full retirement age, your benefits will be permanently reduced. If you claim benefits at your full retirement age, you will receive 100 percent of your spouse's benefit or, if your spouse died before collecting benefits, 100 percent of what your spouse's benefit would have been at full retirement age. Unlike with retirement benefits, delaying survivor's benefits longer than your full retirement age will not increase the benefit. If you delay taking retirement benefits past your full retirement age, depending on when you were born your benefit will increase by 6 to 8 percent for every year that you delay up to age 70, in addition to any cost of living increases.

You cannot take both retirement benefits and survivor's benefits at the same time. When deciding which one to take, you need to compare the two benefits to see which is higher. In some cases, the decision is easy—one benefit is clearly much higher than the other. In other situations, the decision can be a little more complicated and you may want to take your survivor's benefit before switching to your retirement benefit. 

To determine the best strategy, you will need to look at your retirement benefit at your full retirement age as well as at age 70 and compare that to your survivor's benefit. If your retirement benefit at age 70 will be larger than your survivor's benefit, it may make sense to claim your survivor's benefit at your full retirement age. You can then let your retirement benefit continue to grow and switch to the retirement benefit at age 70. 

Example: A widow has the option of taking full retirement benefits of $2,000/month or survivor's benefits of $2,100/month. She can take the survivor's benefits and let her retirement benefits continue to grow. When she reaches age 70, her retirement benefit will be approximately $2,480/month, and she can switch to retirement benefits. Depending on the widow's life expectancy, this strategy may make sense even if the survivor's benefit is smaller than the retirement benefit to begin with. 

Keep in mind that divorced spouses are also entitled to survivor's benefits if they were married for at least 10 years. If you remarry before age 60, you are not entitled to survivor's benefits, but remarriage after age 60 does not affect benefits. In the case of remarriage, you may need to factor in the new spouse's spousal benefit when figuring out the best way to maximize benefits. 

社會安全遺屬福利為寡婦和鰥夫提供安全網。但是為了充分利用這些福利，您需要知道申請的正確時間。

雖然您可以在60歲之前申請遺屬福利，但如果您在退休年齡之前領取福利金，您的福利將永久地減少。如果您在完全退休年齡領取福利金，您將獲得配偶所有的福利，或者如果您的配偶在領取福利金之前去世，您將拿到配偶在完全退休時的全部福利。與退休福利不同，延遲申請遺屬福利的時間到完全退休年齡後並不會增加福利。如果您延遲領取您的退休福利到您的完全退休年齡後，根據您出生的時間，不包括每年生活指數的調整，您延遲到70歲時每年福利將增加6%至8%。

您不能同時享受退休福利和遺屬福利。在決定取哪一種時，您要比較一下兩種之中哪一種收益比較高。在某些情況下，很容易就可以決定 –其中 一個利益顯然比另一個好得多。在其他情況下，可能會稍微複雜一些，您可能希望先獲得遺屬福利，後才是退休福利。

要確定最佳策略，您需要查看您在完全退休年齡時和70歲時的退休福利，並將之與遺屬福利進行比較。如果您在70歲時的退休福利金額大於您的遺屬福利金，那麼在您的完全退休年齡申請您的遺屬福利可能更合理。然後，您可以讓您的退休福利金繼續增長，並在70歲時轉為退休福利。

示例：一名寡婦可以選擇每月2,000美元的全額退休福利或每月2,100美元的遺屬福利。她可以獲得遺屬福利同時讓她的退休福利金繼續增長。當她達到70歲時，她的退休福利將約為每月2,480美元，她可以轉為退休福利。根據寡婦的預期壽命，即使遺屬福利小於退休福利，這種策略也可能更合理。

請緊記，如果離婚配偶結婚超過10年，他們也有權享有遺屬福利。如果您在60歲之前再婚，您無權享有遺屬福利，但60歲以後再婚不會影響福利。在再婚的情況下，您可能需要考慮新配偶的配偶福利，同時找出最大利益的最佳方法。

Making an IRA Part of the Estate Plan

“You’re hoping to leave your loved ones a nice legacy and something that can enhance their financial security or help them achieve special goals. Have you considered how your individual retirement account (IRA) fits into your estate plans?”

Most people use their IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts) for retirement income. However, a lucky group find themselves not needing the money from their IRA accounts. Instead, the assets become part of a legacy that they leave to heirs. That is why most IRA accounts include the name of a beneficiary who could inherit these accounts, when the owner passes away, reports the Oakdale Leader in the article “Leaving An IRA As An Inheritance.”

If no beneficiary is named, things can get complicated for both the estate and the heirs. If the IRA has a named beneficiary, but the will names someone else to receive the IRA, the beneficiary named in the IRA is the one who receives the asset. The named beneficiary in any account and especially an IRA, supersedes the will, in almost every instance.

Anytime there is a significant event, often called a “trigger” event, like a divorce, marriage or birth, the estate plan and all accounts with named beneficiaries should be reviewed. This is to ensure that the assets go where the owner wants them, and not to an unintended heir, like an ex-spouse.

There are special rules for spouses, where IRAs are concerned. Married couples typically name each other as beneficiaries on their IRAs. A surviving spouse has certain decisions to make, when inheriting an IRA. The IRA may be rolled over into a new or existing IRA in the spouse’s own name. Taking this route depends upon the age of the spouse and the need for the money.

Another option is to convert the inherited traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. However, taxes must be paid on the conversion. It is also possible to transfer the IRA assets into an inherited IRA. An estate planning attorney will be able to explain all the options and how they will work with the surviving spouse’s estate plan.

To maximize the growth of the IRA, children or grandchildren can be named as IRA beneficiaries. They will need to start taking annual Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) immediately, and the distributions will be taxable. However, the amount of the RMD will be based on their anticipated lifetimes, so the taxable distributions will be relatively small. The money in the account will have many years to grow.

When children or grandchildren are named as contingent beneficiaries, a surviving spouse has the option to disclaim the IRA, which allows the children or grandchildren to inherit the IRA and enjoy the tax-free years of growth.

Many advisors counsel against naming an estate as a beneficiary, because it helps avoid probate and strict distribution time limits.

Reference: Oakdale Leader (February 19, 2019) “Leaving An IRA As An Inheritance”

Lessen the Stress of Becoming Widowed

“It is no surprise that dealing with the emotional impact of the death of a spouse is overwhelming. For many widows, handling the financial implications of her husband’s death may be too much to bear. However, that is what most widows must do.”

A recent study from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave on widowhood shows that a mere 14% of 3,300 respondents said they were making financial decisions on their own, before their spouses passed away. That is a very low number of women in charge of their financial lives as married women, says Press & Guide in the article “Financial planning can help ease impact, stress of widowhood, study shows.”

Widows are tackling major challenges in the days and weeks after the loss of a loved one. That includes everything from funeral costs, mortgage or rent payments, other costs of running a household and for many, medical costs. With nearly half of those in the study reporting a household income drop of 50% or more after the death of a spouse, that is an enormous burden to take on during a time of great grief and upheaval.

The women are also facing the tasks of juggling Social Security, pensions, life insurance and making sure that their late spouse’s retirement accounts are all correctly transferred into their names.

There is often a lack of preparation for this situation. Many are simply not prepared for how complicated it is to deal with the loss of a spouse.

The study reports that couples who plan for this situation, have their level of worry cut in half. Only 38% of the widows in the study who had conducted financial planning, worried about not being able to support themselves immediately after the death of their spouse. That compares to 64% of widows who had not planned at all.

Widowers (men whose wives have passed) face unique challenges. If their wives pass first, they may be faced with taking on their own caregiving. Statistically, women outlive men, so the widowers have to adjust to losing a caregiver. There may be new financial costs they would not have had to bear, if their wives were still alive.

The first step: meet with an estate planning attorney. Make sure that a will and power of attorney are created, along with any other necessary planning documents. Both spouses should be familiar with all accounts, and both names should be on the accounts and all deeds. Don’t forget to organize all important papers in a file drawer at home or in a safe deposit box. Know where everything is and how to access it.

Having long-term care insurance in place and making sure there are assets available for caregiving, should be a part of everyone’s plan for longevity. Even if you don’t need home health care or to live in an assisted living facility, someone will eventually need to provide some level of care.

Reference: Press & Guide (Nov. 19, 2018) “Financial planning can help ease impact, stress of widowhood, study shows”

Getting Married Again? Protect Your Spouse and Your Children 再婚？保護您的配偶和您的子女 (中英對照)

“With the trend toward increased remarriages later in life, one spouse may prefer living in their own home of many years with the new spouse.”

One of the goals in estate planning when one spouse moves into the home of another spouse, is to ensure that if the owner spouse dies first, the new spouse will be permitted to remain in the home, while preserving the value of the home for the owner spouse’s children. It’s not always an easy situation to resolve, according to an article in the Times Herald-Record, titled “How to preserve your home’s value when remarrying,” but with good planning and an estate plan, it can be done.

With poor planning, your assets could go to your second spouse and then, to his or her own children, leaving your own children empty-handed.

A common approach is to leave the surviving spouse the right to use and occupy the residence, with a provision in a trust or a will that the surviving spouse pays taxes and home insurance costs and maintains the house. The right to live in the house can be for a limited number of months or years or until they pass away or enter a care facility. When the surviving spouse dies, or the time limit is reached, he or she leaves the house, the house is sold and the proceeds are divided among the children of the owner’s spouse.

There are other ways to provide more flexibility to the surviving spouse. If the house is too large or expensive to maintain, he or she may be given the right to use and occupy a substituted property, which may be purchased with the proceeds from the owner spouses’ home. Another arrangement allows the owner spouse’s home to be sold with the surviving spouse using the income from the proceeds of the sale of the house to pay for a rental. When the surviving spouse dies (or when the term expires), the children of the first spouse inherit what is left.

I have handled a case where the surviving spouse is allowed to continue to reside in the house until he dies.  However, certain conditions need to be met.  For instance, the surviving spouse can reside in the residence as long as he remains single and does not bring any female companion to stay in the residence overnight.

A few important things to consider: how well the surviving spouse will be able to maintain the house, either for financial or physical reasons. If the surviving spouse is not taking care of the house and it falls into disrepair, the children may have to file an eviction proceeding. If the trust or will does not specifically instruct the surviving spouse to pay for home maintenance, the children of the owner spouse would be responsible for those costs, and depending on how long the surviving spouse lives, that could be a large burden for a long period of time.

This situation requires thoughtful planning, with many “what if’s” to be asked. An experienced estate planning attorney, who has worked with second marriages and home ownership issues, will be able to provide an objective view of the issues and the solutions.

In addition, bringing family members in for a meeting to discuss the situation, may go along way to prevent, or at least attempt to prevent, larger issues in the future.

Reference: Times Herald-Record (Sep. 22, 2018) “How to preserve your home’s value when remarrying”

“隨著晚年再婚有增加的趨勢，許多人可能願意與新配偶一起住在自己多年的家中。”

資產規劃的目標之一是當其中一方搬進配偶的家中時,確保如擁有業權的配偶先去世，新配偶將被允許繼續住在家中，同時為去世配偶的子女保留房屋的價值。然而要解決這個問題並不是一件容易的事。根據“Times Herald-Record”中的一篇題為“How to preserve your home’s value when remarrying,”，如果有良好的規劃和資產計劃，就可以做到。

如計劃不周，您的資產可能會轉移到您的第二個配偶，然後是他的子女，這會使您自己的子女一無所有。

一種常見的方法是讓在生配偶有權使用和占用住所，並在信託或遺囑中規定在生配偶需支付稅款和房屋保險費用並維修房子。住在房子裡的權利可以是有限的, 可以是幾個月或幾年，甚至直到他們去世或進了護理院。當倖存的配偶去世或到了時限時，他離開了房子，房屋出售後所得的款項由擁有業權的配偶的子女分配。

還有其他方法可為在生配偶提供更多靈活性。如果房屋太大或維修費太高，他可能有權使用和占用取代財產，可以用擁有業權的配偶家中的收益來購買。另一種安排允許生存配偶出售過世配偶的房屋，然後使用房屋銷售的收入來支付租金。當倖存的配偶去世（或到了限期）時，第一配偶的子女可以繼承剩下的。

我曾經處理過一個案例，信託允許在生配偶繼續住在房子裡直到他去世為止。但是有附帶條件。例如，只要在生配偶保持單身並不帶任何女性伴侶在住所過夜便可以居住在住所。

需要考慮的一些重要事項：倖存的配偶是否有足夠的財力和精力去保持房子。如果倖存的配偶沒有保持好房子並且年久失修，子女可能需要展開驅逐程序。如果信託沒有明確指示在生配偶需支付房屋維修費，則由擁有業權的配偶的子女負責這些費用，這取決於未亡配偶的壽命有多久，這可能是一個漫長的負擔。

這種情況需要深思熟慮的計劃，並需作許多“假設”。一位曾處理過再婚和業權問題經驗豐富的資產規劃律師，將能夠客觀地了解和解決問題。

此外，讓家人參加會議討論情況，可採取措施防止或至少預防將來有更大的問題發生。

參考: Times Herald-Record (Sep. 22, 2018) “How to preserve your home’s value when remarrying”