For Couples In Second Marriages, Long Term Care Planning Is Vital

Couples entering second marriages need to understand that under current law, their assets are no longer separately categorized and protected as originally intended in the prenuptial agreement. As in any marriage, all assets are considered as belonging to the couple as one entity, regardless of who brought them into the marriage, and therefore are to be used by either or both persons to cover the costs of LTC should the need arise.

For this reason, it is imperative that couples entering second marriages carefully redefine their respective goals and immediately set up a new, well-designed LTC plan to diminish or eliminate this risk. By carefully selecting suitable insurance benefits to offset some or all of potential LTC costs, couples can preserve and protect their individual assets, and those set aside for children of their previous marriage, as they originally intended when drafting their prenuptial agreements.

Most importantly, taking the time to address such possibilities, however remote they may seem at the start of a second marriage, helps avoid the intra-family and inter-family battles that can arise among children, siblings and previous spouses when one or both partners require LTC. Instead of families banding together when facing the enormous physical, emotional and financial stress of the need for LTC, a breach occurs.

The lack of coordination between the patient's first and second families frequently serves to destroy rather than to preserve the bonds between them?EUR"bonds that may be tenuous to begin with. In the absence of proper planning, the prospect of LTC for a loved one often serves to tear old and new families apart.

Vivian P. Gallo, CLU, CSA, AEP, CLTC, is a long term care insurance specialist and certified senior advisor at Choices For Long Term Care, Hartsdale, N.Y. Her e-mail address is [email protected].