Blended Family Estate Planning

Due to the fact that the divorce rate in the United States exceeds 50 percent, second marriages are very common.  If you are remarried with children, you know that blending families together can be rewarding, but you also know that many complications can ensue. In fact, with the rate of divorce in second marriages coming in at around 67 percent, it is more important than ever to have plans in place for your family.

If you are about to get remarried, it’s important to have an estate plan in place in the event that you or your new spouse should die. You and your spouse may have come into the marriage with separate wills or trusts that need to be revised to reflect your new life circumstances. Most importantly, you will want to make sure that your children are protected now and in the future.

Some couples avoid this issue altogether because it is a difficult conversation to have.  Estate planning gets very complicated in a blended family situation because there are often two sets of children to consider (or three if you have children together in the new marriage), as well as making sure your new spouse is taken care of. However, an estate plan for a blended family is important because it can ensure the following protections:

• Your own children will inherit the money you came into the second marriage with
• Your current spouse will be provided for
• Your ex-spouses will not inherit any of your money
• You will minimize estate taxes and costs of probate
• You will protect beneficiaries from loss of governmental benefits

If you have a blended family or are about to create one, consulting with an experienced Brentwood estate planning attorney will help create the best plan for your new family so that you can enjoy all of the rewards that your new family brings.