Of course, the moment you get married, you never think about the possibility of breaking up. Because on one of the most beautiful days of your life, you don’t think about that. Yet nearly 40% of marriages have ended in recent years. While the divorce rate in the 1970s was still around 15%. But a marriage can also end due to a death.
New partner
Fortunately, many people find a new partner after such a sad event. We experience this regularly in our consultancy practice. If they then get married again or start living together again, it is advisable to ask for advice in advance from a notary and us, your financial adviser. We would like to show why we give this advice by means of a few examples.
The widower
Suppose the future partner is a widower. It is then important to know whether a will was drawn up in the previous marriage. And what is included in it. Did the widower and his late wife have children? Then they are entitled to part of the inheritance of their deceased mother. Normally under Dutch law, the father then manages the entire estate, including the assets to which the children from their mother’s inheritance are entitled. It is then usual that the children can only claim “their” share if the father dies. However, if their father gets married again, it can lead to a very unpleasant situation. If he dies before his new partner, the children can claim their share of their mother’s inheritance at that time. For example, is that part of the assets in a jointly purchased home? Then the question is whether the partner has enough money to pay the children their share of the inheritance. The timely conclusion of a good life insurance policy can offer a solution for this.
A new house together
Are the new partners going to buy a house together? Then there are all kinds of tax questions in financing this new home that have to do with the situation that applied in the marriage that was dissolved by divorce or death. This may have consequences for the duration and amount of the tax deduction of the mortgage interest to be paid.
In addition, when taking out a new mortgage, it must be carefully examined whether it is desirable and reasonable for both partners to be jointly and severally liable for the entire mortgage debt. Perhaps a division (both half) is a better solution.
Good advice
We understand very well that when our office relations meet a new partner, they are involved in other matters than taxation and inheritance law. Nevertheless, it is important to pay attention to this before irreversible decisions are made. If this plays for you, please contact our office. We are happy to take the time for you!