I want my son to inherit my house worth $1.2 million. Do I leave it to my second husband in my will? He promised to pass it on.

I made sure to pay all the mortgage and maintenance costs myself to ensure there was no doubt that this was my separate property. After I die, my trust stipulates that my husband gets the house — which is currently worth $1.2 million after deducting the outstanding mortgage from its market value — and my child gets the rest of my assets, which are about $1.2 million.

My husband will also receive monthly payments from his pension as a survivor and beneficiary, which will more than cover the monthly mortgage payments. So my husband will, in effect, pay the mortgage with the money I provide even after I die. I would like to return the house to my son after my husband died.

Not a blood relative

He is, after all, my son's stepfather, but he is not a blood relative. Is the house considered an inheritance? If my son were to sell the house, would there be an increase in cost as if I had left the house to him directly? Or will my husband leaving the house to my son be tantamount to the stranger’s will for him in the house?

I know I could rewrite my trust to give my husband the use of the house while he lives and then pass it on to my son when he dies, but that forces my husband to live in the house until he dies. He may want to move elsewhere after he retires. What I want to avoid is leaving the house to his wife who he will marry after I die.

If I rewrite my trust to allow my husband to live in the home until he dies, at which time the trust passes to my son, what are his options and what happens to the house if he chooses to live in another state? Can he rent the house to provide him with income to pay for housing costs wherever he goes? I suppose I can condition this into my trust.

I would appreciate any advice you have on this matter.

See also: My brother lives in our parents' house, which we will inherit 50/50. I want to keep it in the family for my children. How do I protect my interests?

Dear wife and mother,

Unfortunately, you are trying to be too many things to too many people. Prioritize your goals through your estate planning. You'll have to make some sort of compromise along the way, and from what you say in your letter, your son is your first priority from an inheritance standpoint, even though you'd like to make sure your husband has a roof over his head. .

You'll go to great lengths to ensure that your $1.2 million home doesn't get mixed up with your marital assets — in the event of your divorce — yet you still plan to leave it to your second spouse in your will. Ultimately, you want your child to inherit your entire estate, while ensuring that your second husband lives a financially independent life after you are gone.

In order to do this, you have to cut yourself some slack. Situations change, relationships break down, people get married, and these spouses often come with their own power and influence. Your husband and son could fall. He or a new spouse may be going through hard times and need money to cover long-term care or medical expenses. This house can become a lucrative source of income.

Trusts and wills cannot be all things to all people. Allow your spouse to live in your home for the rest of his life as a life tenant, making sure to specify that he must take care of property taxes and property maintenance. But you are causing trouble by letting your husband have his cake and eat it – by letting him live in the house and sell it.

Basically a step

So what if you left your home to your husband – with the hope/promise that he would keep his word and leave it to your son after he died? Stepchildren are not typically considered legal heirs under the law, unless they are formally adopted, listed in beneficiary designations, trusts, gifts, or a last will and testament. Check with a tax attorney in your state.

It's complicated. S says: “An heir does not have to be a biological descendant to receive a basis increase,” says Michelle Gunn, director of wealth planning at Goelzer Wealth Management. “The property in question must be included as part of the deceased's estate. Qualification for promotion essentially has nothing to do with the relationship between the individual.”

Regardless, there are wrinkles to the rule for couples applying, depending on where they live. For example, if you own a home jointly With your second spouse, you'll get a step-up in basis, but it'll likely only be half the value of the house, Jan says. However, if you live in a community-owned state, you basically get a full upgrade.

All of this assumes that your husband dies. In fact, your spouse will likely die before you. Between 25% and 50% of men outlive women, according to this 200-year global study published in BMJ Open, a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal. In fact, women tend to live five to six years longer than men, Scientific American reports.

Create an estate plan that's so solid, you don't need any wiggle room.

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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