Health Challenges

Situation:

Jim and his wife Sally are long-time clients of THOR, but at age 59, Jim was unexpectedly diagnosed with terminal cancer. The news came as quite a shock and there was great concern for Sally’s future. During their 36 years of marriage, Jim had handled all of the couple’s finances.

Solution:

Shortly after Jim’s diagnosis, we sat down with Jim and Sally to discuss their options. We discovered that many of the couple’s assets, including their primary home in Ohio and their vacation home in Florida, were titled in Jim’s name alone. If the assets remain titled this way, the assets would pass through probate upon Jim’s passing. This could add significant time and expense to Sally. Furthermore, because Jim and Sally owned real estate in two different states, the re-titling of assets took on even greater importance. Generally, a probate estate must be opened in every state where a decedent owns real estate. In this case, that would have meant both Ohio and Florida if the assets remained titled in Jim’s name alone. We assisted Jim and Sally in re-titling all of their assets so that the assets would pass directly to Sally, thus saving her significant time and expense upon Jim’s passing. Additionally, as Jim handled the couple’s finances during their marriage, Sally was justifiably concerned about her ability to maintain her standard of living. We assisted Sally in creating a financial plan that showed her that she would have sufficient assets to maintain her lifestyle once Jim was gone. We also helped Sally create and follow a budget to ensure that her financial security would not be jeopardized during the remainder of her life.