Most people know that they need a new trust after a divorce. But what happens when they get married? Do they need to create a new one if they already have a trust? Let’s dive into the question: Do I Need a New Trust After I Get Married?
The answer is the classic lawyer response: it depends. If you intend to have community property (i.e., you and your spouse jointly own assets such as the house), then you probably should have a new trust to cover what happens to that community property. That way, you and your new spouse can be on the same page regarding your jointly owned assets (pun intended). If you want everything to be community property, then you can move the assets from your single-person trust to the new community property trust, and you can get rid of the Single, Sad, and Lonely Trust altogether.
On the other hand, if you intend to keep everything separate, you could stick with the single-person trust you had before you entered the marriage. Just make sure there’s a written agreement stating that there are no community property assets.
But what if you want to have it both ways? Maybe you want everything going forward to be community property, but you still want to keep your pre-marriage assets separate. In that case, you still want a community property trust, but you would keep your single-person trust around, and the assets that were in there before marriage would stay there. There are just a few things to keep in mind if you want to go this route:
- You still want a written agreement between you and your spouse that states what is separate property and what is community property.
- You need to update your single-person trust to state that you are now married. That way, it’s clear that the terms reflect your current intentions, and nobody can argue that you forgot to update it after getting married.
- Both trusts should reference and exclude each other, so it’s clear that they’re meant to co-exist. Having each trust list what’s supposed to be in it is also helpful, so nobody has to wonder which trust controls which asset.
If you still have questions or would like to discuss whether or not you need a new trust after you get married, you are welcome to email me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.
