YOUR MONEY Over
50 and Getting Married?
These “golden rules” will safeguard your finances. :: BY GINA ROBERTS-GREY
G
etting married after age 50 can bring romance, joy, and companionship. But as viewers of the
hit TV show The Golden Bachelor discovered last year, it can also bring unwelcome challenges — the leading man of that season allegedly wasn’t truthful about his romantic or financial past. Although the Bachelor franchise
overdramatizes courtship, its Golden version sheds light on issues unique to commingling hearts, lives, and money after 50. Finding true love (or thinking you
have) easily clouds judgment and may temporarily send your prospective partner packing.
CHECK, THEN CHAT It’s tough to paint a completely clear picture of a potential spouse’s financial health without the person’s consent, but you can investigate a partner’s finances quietly by paying for an online background report to identify bankruptcies, liens, and assets. You may also be able to learn about
previous arrests, any sexual predator history, and even traffic violations, in some instances. However, online background
reports can have errors, so you may need to dig deeper to confirm your discoveries or do additional screenings, cautions Wes Anderson,
74 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | FEBRUARY 2025
a partner and online privacy expert with Denver-based Reveille Advisors, which provides private investigation and other intelligence services. “Online background reports don’t
disclose credit score, credit card debt, medical debt, or student loan information, so you won’t know a person’s income-to-debt ratio, which is important when considering making someone your partner,” he notes. Anderson says a transparent
person won’t hide their credit score, and if it’s lower than yours, they’ll typically try to explain why. It could even become a goal to get their score a little higher before shopping for a house together or taking a trip down the aisle. “You should absolutely know
if someone has substantial debt they’re bringing to the table,” he says. “Anything past a car loan, a mortgage, and maybe student loans are open for question.” A frank discussion about finances should also cover any existing
alimony or child support obligations and how these will be paid.
PROTECTING YOUR HEIRS You should consider issues that are unique to people over 50, such as the potential disinheritance of children from a previous relationship. That’s because in many states, remarrying revokes the provisions of your existing will. It’s important to understand your
state’s laws, as some have forced heirship rules, which may require a portion of your estate to be allocated to specific heirs, such as your children. However, there are many estate
planning tools you can use to protect your children from being accidentally disinherited while also providing for a surviving spouse. One such tool is a prenuptial or
postnuptial agreement (a postnuptial agreement is the same as a prenuptial, but is drafted after a marriage occurs). These agreements can detail what
SHULERS/SHUTTERSTOCK
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