When we finished the cute new baby room after discovering Patricia’s new baby would be a girl, we knew we had to adjust our ownership and inheritance plans.  Why?

As we wrote last week, some proceeds from selling Patricia’s old house were required to make the change to our shared space.  The extra room surely increased the house’s value somewhat, and it certainly increased Patricia’s upfront cash investment. 

Before this change, we agreed to share maintenance and most improvement expenses while living together.  Patricia would also help pay on the new mortgage that financed the addition.  Priscilla and Ed would remain sole owners.  After her parents’ deaths, Patricia would inherit an extra percentage of the house, primarily based on the reduced mortgage loan. 

Since Patricia paid for this improvement solely, we decided that the extra percentage now should be based on the reduced mortgage loan in addition to an amount for Patricia’s additional cash investment in the extra room. 

Surprisingly, after some thought and calculation, this turned out to be a relatively simple adjustment to make to our plan.  Even though having our little girl has caused much change in our lives in so many ways, our estate plan only needed tweaking. 

Some updates to estate plans are major and complex.  Other times, they turn out simple.  To consider updating your multigenerational planning when life actually happens differently than expected, please call our office at (815) 436-1996 for an appointment.  ©2012 Gruber Law Office, Ltd.