Inheritance and Bank Accounts

In My Humble Opinion
1

Here is a scenario (In Texas)

John’s father died and left him $1m cash

John is married to Linda. Linda is a forceful, frivolous, money hungry, greedy, person who just cant wait to get hold of John’s inheritance.

John knows that if he puts the money in a joint bank account then half the money instantly becomes Linda’s because Texas is a community property state. John wants to put the money in an account in his name only with Linda as the POD (payment on death) beneficiary. Will that be sufficient to keep Linda’s hands off the money while John is alive? Is there a better way?

2

Not in my understanding of community property. IANAL, but I think it means just what it sounds like – any assets acquired by either party during the marriage belong to both parties equally.

3

Even in a community property state, community property status does not apply to gifts and inheritances to one spouse only. It has to be kept completely separate though. So the question is does the listing of Linda as beneficiary suffice to be a commingling with their community property. I don’t think so, but I don’t know.
The above is not legal advice.

4

If John’s father had set up a trust before his death, listing John as the sole beneficiary, it would have been simpler and more clear-cut.

There is some hope if John puts the funds into a separate account. If he deposits the inheritance into a joint account, then it’s community property. The good news is that in Texas, property acquired by gift or inheritance is classed as separate property. The difficulty is in keeping it separate.

John ought to consult with a couple of attorneys, especially ones who specialize in probate and estate planning. Don’t trust us - we’re anonymous people who are probably not attorneys or even in Texas.

ETA: Having been the executor of trusts in the past, I wouldn’t even use the same bank for the trust as my regular banking, so it’s utterly separate and there’s no chance of things getting muddled with things like online access to all of your accounts at the bank.

5

I’m not an expert, but my understanding is that it has to be comingled. When i inherited some stock, I had my wife’s name added as owner.

6
7

Making an assumption that this is a real life legal question. Therefore, moved from General Questions to IMHO, where you can get opinions.

samclem

8

Let me get this straight. Bob wants to put $1m into an account in his name & put Linda as his beneficiary?

Soooo, all Linda has to do to get Bobs $1m, is to murder Bob & get away with it.:eek:

I do not see a down side to this for Bob do you? :dubious:

9

Even if the money is put away in a separate account, there’s a way Linda can access it: she runs up a massive credit card debt.

Isn’t credit card debt amassed during the marriage viewed by the courts as “community debt”, and therefore both spouses are responsible for it?

10

In Texas, the most creditors can do is put any debts owed on your credit report.

The only thing you can be garnished for here is child support or taxes owed.

11

Inheritance (and maybe a few other categories of monies) are excluded, unless steps are taken at the time of acquisition to communalize the assets.

12

hmmm…If somebody has a million dollars coming his way, I think he can afford to spend a couple hundred for a half-hour consultation with a lawyer.
Or maybe he could take a chance, and ask some strangers on the internet.

But on the other hand, well, I dunno… I 'spose that since it’s a only a measly million bucks, why worry about it anyway?
and…oh yeah…If you really want to safeguard it, you can send it to me. I ain’t your wife, and I ain’t in Texas, so you won’t have any complicated issues about this community property stuff, either. :slight_smile:

13

It’s never that easy. About half the states are communal property states in some way or other, no two alike. With many other complicating factors. Like, what if you and your wife live in a communal state, but own a vacation house in a non-communal state?

14

Not to put too fine a point on it, but their marriage sounds really fucked up if Linda is so grasping that John is unwilling to share the cash with her.

Maybe he should put it in a separate account, and not touch it until AFTER he unloads her sorry ass.