Don’t Let the GF Have It

23 Feb 2023 · 0 min

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0:27

In this brief commentary, the speaker shares a personal anecdote about a family trust that was revoked by a surviving spouse after the first spouse’s death, with the assets transferred to the spouse’s girlfriend. He explains that revocable trusts are vulnerable because the surviving spouse can unilaterally dissolve them and reallocate assets. To safeguard assets from such actions, he advises establishing an irrevocable trust nested within the original revocable trust, which cannot be altered by the surviving spouse.

My parents were married 50 years and within 2 years of my mom's death, he revoked the family trust and gave everything to his girlfriend. Yes, that happens frequently. A revocable trust can be completely done away with by the surviving spouse. After the first spouse dies, the surviving spouse can do whatever they want to with the remaining trust. The only way to protect against this is to create an irrevocable trust within the original revocable trust.