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Estate Planning for Blended FamiliesAccording to a recent Pew Research study, 40% of all new marriages include at least one spouse who has previously been married. This number does not include statistics about couples who marry and have children from previous relationships. What many of these couples don’t realize is that when children from prior marriages or relationships are involved, standard estate planning documents do not adequately address their needs. For example, have you considered these questions:
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- Have you changed the beneficiaries of life insurance, retirement accounts, etc. to reflect the new marital relationship?
- Do you live in a community property state, or are you subject to equitable distribution laws? How do you treat assets that you owned prior to your marriage?
- If you pass away, who will receive your assets? Your current spouse? Your children? Your spouse’s children?
- Do you have separate property as well as joint property? Do your documents adequately address both types of property?
- Do you have both joint children and children from prior relationships? How should each child be treated for estate planning purposes?
- Do you want your ex-spouse to have any control or say in where your assets go?
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E-book: "Estate Planning For The Modern Family"The average family today faces different needs than they did before. Changing laws, high divorce rates, and immigration concerns cause new and serious considerations for families planning their estates. Whether it's planning for pets, partners, or past relationships, our new E-Book, "Estate Planning for the Modern Family" has answers and strategies to make sure there will be no surprises when emergencies hit and avoid fallout for the family afterwards.
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