Are you obligated to leave your spouse a specific percentage of your estate in your will?
June 11, 2021
Victoria Gordon
Legal Moment
Legal Moment on Dave Rocks
Transcript
| [phone ringing] | |
| Receptionist: | Cohen Highley |
| Announcer: | And now the Cohen Highley Legal Moment on Dave Rocks. |
| Announcer: | I’m with Victoria Gordon from Cohen Highley Lawyers. Are you obligated to leave your spouse a specific percentage of your estate in your will? |
| Victoria Gordon: | No, you are not obligated to leave your married spouse any portion of your estate in your will. However, Section 6 of the Family Law Act allows a surviving spouse to choose between accepting their entitlement under the will or claiming an equalization payment. In legal terms, this is commonly referred to as a spousal election. |
| Announcer: | Explain equalization payment. |
| Victoria Gordon: | This is the amount that would have been available to your spouse had the marriage ended in separation or divorce . Upon the breakdown of a marriage each spouse is entitled to share equally in the value of the property acquired during the marriage and any increase in value of property brought into the marriage. |
| Announcer: | Is there a timeframe for spousal elections? |
| Victoria Gordon: | The form indicating the surviving spouse’s election must be filed within six months of the first spouse’s death. |
| Announcer: | Thanks Victoria. This has been the Cohen Highley Legal Moment. |
| [Music] | |
| Singers: | Cohen Highley, we’re listening. cohenhighley.com |
