Dear Mr. Premack: Can my middle-aged children file any kind of claim against property jointly own by me and my current spouse of 20 years when I die? My wife fears that they can. They have been excluded from my will and SHOULD have no claim. – GG

Sounds like you have been paying attention to various columns I’ve written in the past. The message you received was this: when you make a legally valid Will you get to select your own heirs. You can choose to exclude your children in favor of your wife.

Timing is a consideration. You might decide to structure your Will to say that if you predecease your wife she receives the property. But if the timing is that she predeceases you (and has no need to inherit) you could structure your Will to leave the property to anyone you select. Contingency planning can be an important part of your Will.

Your wife’s fear is based on a different Texas law which states that if you die intestate (without a Will) then your children have certain legal rights to your property. When those children come from a prior marriage, their rights take precedence over the rights of your second spouse – but only if you are intestate. When you make a valid Will, your choices take precedence.

Can your children invalidate your Will by contesting it after you die? They must have valid legal grounds to bring the contest and must have solid evidence that the Will is not entitled to probate. They would be unlikely to prevail, but you can give your wife an advantage by selecting another legal method to transfer ownership upon your death (rather than relying only on a Will).

For instance, you can create a living trust and then deed the property to the Trustee (who can be your wife). The trust can give you the use and enjoyment of the property for the rest of your life. But when you die, the property can pass from the trust directly to your wife without probate – which makes it much harder for your children to challenge.

Dear Mr. Premack: Our mother has been married to her second husband for eight years and has been in an Alzheimer's unit for four years. She is about to run out of her money, and we hope that her husband’s money won’t have to be spent to care for her. Is there a way to get Mom on Medicaid even though her husband has money? – BA

Medicaid uses a policy called "deeming"; that is, even if an asset is owned by her husband, it is deemed to be her asset when she applies for Medicaid benefits. If the countable assets exceed $2000 in value (whether the money was hers or was his) then she cannot qualify for benefits.

There is one exception. Married couples are given a "spousal resource" allowance. If their combined funds are, for instance, $50,000 then he keeps ½ and the other ½ must be spent down to $2000 before she can qualify for Medicaid. There are limits and adjustments that can make the calculation complicated, so visit www.Premack.com for more details.