HAPPILY EVER AFTER PROTECTION (Pt. 2)
- Julie Settle
- 6 days ago
- 1 min read
Andy and Rhonda live together as boyfriend and girlfriend in a beautiful home, in a beautiful relationship. Andy is older, and has four grown children from a previous marriage. The home title is only in his name, and he wants his children to inherit it eventually, but wants to protect Rhonda.
He could do a Will, but girlfriend Rhonda runs the risk of having a Partition Action filed by the four children to force her out in the sale of the home. As long as Andy’s alive, Rhonda is fine in there, but once he’s gone, the children may feel differently about her and their inheritance property.
He could do a Trust, but Trusts aren’t great in a non-trustworthy situation. Also as my attorney brother, Rusty Collins, points out, you can’t do with a Trust what you can’t do with a Will. You can’t use a Trust to get around a Will.
Andy’s best choice to protect his girlfriend Rhonda is to do a Life Estate with a one-fifth interest. That way Rhonda can live happily ever after in the home, ever after Andy’s death.
From Land Title Talk Podcast on YouTube
July 2, 2025
Written by Stephen Collins and CJ Godwin
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