I am divorced and remarried to a woman who owns a home. Likewise I also own a home too. If either of us die without a will, who inherits the house of the surviving spouse. She has two kids and I have two kids with my first wife.

I want my wife to inherit the home and if she dies after I do, I want my kids to inherit the home.

What advice can be offered?

I have an estate in stocks for taxable and tax deterred and life insurance. I want to leave the estate to my wife, but if she dies, I want the remainder to go to my children and not to her children.

I am concerned that my wishes be respected and that she can live on the earnings but the principal less a reasonable sum to be used yearly if needed... and the balance goes to my kids.

Any suggestions the best way to accomplish this?

I have two step kids and my wife has a deadbeat ex who has failed to pay support. I have not adopted the kids.

I have no interest to pay for their college education for a number of reasons but primarily they are recent high school grad and a sophomore in high school. My wife and I got married a year ago.

I have intentionally not paid her house pmt or any of her bills. I give her a period check for household expenses. My income goes into my checking account and she has a separate account for her job. She did add me to her checking account, but I have not written any checks.

We have separate real estate loans that we each pay. We have not joint debt other than adding her to one credit card that I consider mine.

I want to determine if my income and assets will be used in anyway to affect the amount of student aid if the kids go to college. I don't want to be liable for their college expenses and I don't particularly want my income considered in the college financial aid calculations.

Should we have some type of a post nuptuial agreement or some written agreement regarding our income and expenses that could be presented for financial support calcuations.

What is the best way to protect my income from being included in college support or even if her ex spouse wanted to consider my income to reduce chidl support. I'd rather not be drawn into the child support reduction if the ex proposes a reduction based upon my income.

Set up a trust - or cover it by Will but once it's transferred to your wife (upon your death), she can dispose of the stocks in any way she wishes. Your Will cannot control how she disposes of her estate.

You have posted this question in some form 3 times - why don't you just consult with an Attorney and set up a trust or a Will or whatever is appropriate in your State to manage your assets upon your death - ?

You can leave the house to your wife but you cannot control what she does with it upon her death. You need a trust - in accordance with Federal and State Law.

Your Will cannot control how your wife disposes of her assets (which the house will be if she inherits it jointly) upon her death.

This and your other questions really should have been covered in a prenuptual, but I'm sure you know that now.

It depends on the State and the type of student loan. The last time I saw loan papers they asked about household income. I don't know if that's changed. I don't see any type of agreement, including a prenuptual, had you entered into one, changing that.

As far as support - it's by State. In some States household income is considered. In other States it's not.

>THREE threads merged<

Please stick to ONE thread for this issue.

Gosh, I'm a specialist in family law so estate planning is not my chosen field. But, I'd say the easiest way to assure you get her house and she gets yours if either of you die is to put both houses in joint tenancy (not tenancy in common) or community property with right of survivorship. That avoids probate. Easy.

If your wife were to die before you (and you had a joint tenancy) then you'd get the house on her death and if intestate, your kids would get it once you died. If her house were in joint tenancy and she predeceased you you'd get her house too and it too would pass to your kids if you died intestate.

That sounds right to me.

Talk to someone about setting up a trust. Everyone is doing that nowadays.

1. Student Aid: You have to check with the student aid folks about how your income factors into the elegibility of one of the kids for student aid. There's nothing in the Family Code about that. There probably are some kinds of state educational regulations on that narrow question (maybe something in the Educational Code, I don't know). It's really not a family law matter or one most family law attorneys could answer. Again, check with the student aid folks at the college. They're the ones who are really in the know about those kinds of things.
2. Liability for College Expenses: A parent (or step-parent) is not liable for a child's college expenese in California. Simple as that.
3. College Support: There is no such thing as college support in California. This was debated in the legislature many times in the past and consistently rejected. Again, this cannot be ordered. The parties have to specifically agree to it and make it part of a divorce decree for it to exist (I've never seen such an agreement in a divorce decree and have to imagine they are pretty rare).
4. Can your income be used to reduce child support your wife receives? If you make more than your wife and file a joint return her child support will INCREASE (not go down). Your income is excluded from hers in calculating support but the tax effect is considered. If you have no income and she works and you file a joint return, her support will go down. If you insist in having nothing to do with your wife's child support issue, you'll have to file married separate. Then there will be no tax effect.