Anonymous wrote:Seek legal advice but I say stay married as you will qualify for more spousal benefits however small like social security and also for tax purposes you can file as married for 3 years after spouse death and also take larger exclusion for capital gains on sale of house. I’m a widow.

Whoa! Is this true? My DH is in poor health and i have been thinking of financial planning in terms of having to file as single the year following his death.

If this is true, it definitely would affect my plans.

OP, you need to see a lawyer.

Anonymous wrote:Can she sell the house and hide the equity (e.g., in an account under her parents name or something)

No! That is illegal. All bills will need to be paid from the estate.

OP really needs to consult a lawyer. It’s also possible her DH will hang on longer, maybe years, for more cycles of going in and out of the hospital. Medical care is really good these days at keeping people alive for a long time.

Anonymous wrote:Seek legal advice but I say stay married as you will qualify for more spousal benefits however small like social security and also for tax purposes you can file as married for 3 years after spouse death and also take larger exclusion for capital gains on sale of house. I’m a widow.

This is good advice, esp re: SS benefits.

Anonymous wrote:You are both in debt and overspent. You need to get a job now and reduce your expenses.

Get a job subbing. Now. Tutor.

I suspect your DH may also have untreated mental illness such as bipolar in addition to the drinking, which may be self medicating.

Do you have any family that you and the kids can move in with and get back on your feet? Are you licensed in any lower cost of living areas?

Seek legal advice but I say stay married as you will qualify for more spousal benefits however small like social security and also for tax purposes you can file as married for 3 years after spouse death and also take larger exclusion for capital gains on sale of house. I’m a widow.

Anonymous wrote:Can she sell the house and hide the equity (e.g., in an account under her parents name or something)

She doesn’t need to do this, they aren’t going to make her sell her house. Now whether she can continue paying the mortgage and HELOC payments is another question, but the credit card companies can pound sand. My mom died with CC debt that my dad’s name was not on. Because their marital assets beyond the home were less than 40k, he didn’t have to pay any of her CC debt.

Anonymous wrote:Can she sell the house and hide the equity (e.g., in an account under her parents name or something)

She does not need legal
Problems on top of her other troubles. Stop!

Can she sell the house and hide the equity (e.g., in an account under her parents name or something)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry you are going through this but I don’t understand how you have 600k in equity in the house but owe $720k on the house?

It means that OP's house is worth approx. $1.3 million.

That is a comfort. They can scale down the house and the cars to have more spendable income. Or borrow more on the equity.

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry you are going through this but I don’t understand how you have 600k in equity in the house but owe $720k on the house?

Mortgage owed $720k, value = $1,320,000

DP

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry you are going through this but I don’t understand how you have 600k in equity in the house but owe $720k on the house?

DP, but I have a house worth about $1.3 so similar to OP. We have about $600k left on mortgage and $700k equity. My understanding is you don’t take the equity minus the amount owed (i.e. I wouldn’t say I only have $100k in equity) because the house has $1.3 in value. So in theory I should be able to sell the house for $1.3 and walk away with $700k and the mortgage cleared.

Anonymous wrote:If he dies and you’re still married, you can file for social security survivor benefits. It’s not taxable and will be around $700/kid/month till they are 19.

Find a widow support group or a legal center to get your plan of attack,

This is a good point. They should get some $ off his SS. The kids will be entitled to it no matter what. I imagine marriage will help OP get some $ too possibly. She needs an estate lawyer to help her figure out the best strategy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to get another job now. You don’t have the luxury of waiting until the fall.

Who’s paying for childcare x 3 kids? Summer childcare is crazy expensive.

Work at a camp with kids. She can also watch other kids along with hers. Suck it up and figure it out.