Finding love later in life may be unexpected and exciting, but should it lead to marriage?

The considerations are much different for an
older couple with adult children and retirement plans than for a young couple
just starting out. Before deciding whether to get married or just live
together, you need to look at your estate plan, your Social Security benefits,
and your potential long-term care needs, among other things. Whatever you
decide to do, you may want to consult a lawyer to make sure your wishes will be
carried out.

Here are some things to think about:

• Estate
  Planning. Getting married can have a big effect on your
  estate plan. Even if you don't include a new spouse in your will, in most
  states spouses are automatically entitled to a share of your estate. One
  way to prevent a spouse from taking his or her share is to enter into a
  prenuptial agreement in which both spouses agree not to take anything from
  the other's estate. If you want to leave something to your spouse and
  ensure your heirs receive their inheritance, a trust may be the best
  option.
• Long-Term
  Care.
  Trusts and prenuptial agreements, however, won't keep a spouse from being
  responsible for your long-term care costs or vice versa. In addition,
  getting married can have an effect on your or your spouse’s Medicaid
  eligibility If you can afford it, a long-term care insurance policy may be
  a good investment once you remarry.
• The
  Family Home. Whether you are getting married or just
  living together, before combining households you will need to think about
  what will happen to the house once the owner of the house dies. If the
  owner wants to keep the house within his or her family, putting the house
  in both spouse's names is not an option. On the other hand, the owner may
  also not want his or her heirs to evict the surviving spouse once the
  owner dies. One solution is for the owner of the house to give the
  surviving spouse a life estate. Once the surviving spouse dies, the house
  will pass to the original owner's heirs.
• Social
  Security. Many divorced or widowed seniors receive
  Social Security from their former spouses, and remarriage can affect
  benefits. If you are divorced after at least 10 years of marriage, you can
  collect retirement benefits on your former spouse's Social Security record
  if you are at least age 62 and if your former spouse is entitled to or
  receiving benefits. If you remarry, you generally cannot collect benefits
  on your former spouse's record unless your later marriage ends (whether by
  death, divorce, or annulment). However, if your are a widow, widower or
  surviving divorced spouse who remarries after age 60, you are entitled to
  benefits on your prior deceased spouse's Social Security earnings record.