Text 8204, 68 rader
Skriven 2010-06-06 14:47:22 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Bargeld lacht
=====================
Hello Robert,

On Sunday June 06 2010 08:38, you wrote to me:

 MV>> When I die before she does, she inherites everything. Almost 50%
 MV>> will go to the tax collector. That means she will have to sell the
 MV>> house. Shan can not stay there.

 RB> Then the inheritance laws where you live are different from those in
 RB> Germany. A common-law wife (that's what you are referring to here)
 RB> inherits _nothing_ unless there is a will to her benefit,

I forgot to mention that in this case there IS a will. We already made will
some time ago. If there were no will, she would indeed get nothing just as in
Germany. That of course we made the wills in the first place.

 RB> and in Germany even then blood relatives (nephews, nieces, cousins
 RB> and the like) have more rights. A common-law wife also pays higher
 RB> inheritance taxes than a blood relative - but still nothing like the
 RB> 50% you mention.

Here a common law wife pays the same as any other citizen that has no blood
relation.

 MV>> Case 2:

 MV>> Rosa and I are married.

 MV>> When I die before she does, she inherits everything.

If there is no will and there are children, the children can claim their legal
share.

 MV>> Almost nothing goes to the tax collector. There is enough left to
 MV>> pay off any remaining debts. She can keep the house and continue to
 MV>> live there for as long as she wants.

 RB> This would be similar to the case in Germany. In addition, she would
 RB> be able to collect a widow's pension from the government.

If she is under the age of 65 and has little or no income, yes she could.

 RB> There have been cases where older men have married yiounger women pro
 RB> forma for exactly this reason, to make sure the women are provided for
 RB> after their death.

It also works the other way. Under the "equal sexes law" men are also entitled
for widow's pension.

 RB> A classic case was that of Herbert Wehner, an SPD member and long-term
 RB> national representative, who married his younger companion when he was
 RB> in advanced years and in poor health. As I remember, he even admitted
 RB> one time that the purpose of the marriage was to ensure that his wife
 RB> would receive a widow's pension.

That construction is not common here as the widow's pensions are fairly low.
Too much to die, but hardly enough to live. A life insurance is a better option
if one is not so poor that one can not pay the insurance fees.

And if the woman is young and healthy, she is better off with finding a job.
Even a lousy job at cash register of a supermarket pays more than the widow's
pension.


Cheers, Michiel

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