Becoming a blended family presents unique opportunities and some challenges with regard to your financial and estate planning. In 40% of all new marriages in the United States, at least one of the spouses was previously married. There are unique financial and estate planning dynamics that can come from merging families, especially as it relates to financial values, existing documents, money philosophies and even your spending habits.

There’s a good chance that the way you talk to your individual children about finances is different too. From savings plans to allowances, it’s important for you and your new spouse to get on the same page. In these circumstances, it’s a good idea to look at existing documents that both of you are bringing into the marriage.

Estate planning must be tackled together with your new family in order to ensure that your estate planning documents and strategies accomplish your goals. Once you’re married, your blended family should quickly reevaluate existing estate planning processes.

It’s important to think about how you will care for your children from your previous marriage and ensure that they are not accidentally excluded from your estate planning that you update across the board to reflect your new family arrangements. In addition to making sure that your new spouse is taken care of, you’ll want to talk with an estate planning lawyer to verify whether or not your existing estate planning documents protect your children from a previous marriage the way that you intended.

For further information about this process, schedule a time to talk with a dedicated estate planning lawyer.

Since blended families have so much to think about, you need dedicated advocates in your corner to help you.

Have you recently filed for divorce or are you in the midst of the proceedings to legally end your marriage? It’s easy to feel like there are plenty of details to think about, but chief among them should be what happens to your existing estate plans. During the divorce is a good time to evaluate any joint accounts, policies, or paperwork that gives your soon-to-be former spouse any level of decision-making power over your future. 

Most people forget in the process of handling all of the paperwork and the life changes that come with a divorce, to update their estate plans accordingly. In fact, it could be weeks or months before you update this necessary paperwork and if something were to happen in between, there’s a good chance that your former spouse is still listed as the person eligible to receive assets or to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so. 

There’s no doubt that this should be a top of mind priority as you approach getting closer to your divorce date. Many attorneys have reported that their office has been busier than usual with contacting questions about updating estate planning documents or getting estate planning done for the first time at all. 

These documents are not static and should remain living and breathing documents that should change just as often as your life does. Health care directives, powers of attorney and beneficiary forms are just a few examples of the documents that should be updated after you get divorced. To ensure that all necessary paperwork is updated with your new life, schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney to walk through a checklist of what you can anticipate.       

Our law offices are still open and working with clients to ensure that all of your needs are addressed. If you need to set up a time to draft new wills, powers of attorney, or other documents, we’re here to help. 

Contemplating your estate planning considerations after getting married for a second time is especially important because there are critical issues that could easily be overlooked that could leave your children from your first marriage or even your new spouse at a disadvantage. 

What follows are two different estate planning tips and considerations for those in second marriages. First of all, spouses can leave their assets separate and have their own revocable trust. You should consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to discuss this option. A trust could be established with the benefit of a surviving spouse after the first spouse passes away. This would enable the surviving spouse to tap into income or even principle.

It’s important to consider giving children a bequest upon the first death, which means that the children will have at least received something if the surviving spouse ends up needing most or all of those funds. The second thing to consider is to choose trustees wisely. The surviving spouse should not be the only person who is listed as a trustee. This means that the trustee has the power to withdraw all of the principle inside the trust which could potentially disinherit children accidentally. The second tip to consider with regards to trust planning for your estate is to create a joint trust which is irrevocable upon the death of the first spouse.

If the spouses wish to sign a joint trust, then the trust must be drafted so that it is irrevocable upon the death of the first spouse. Always consider how you can incorporate children from a previous relationship by giving them a bequest upon the first death. Putting together a trust gives you power, control and some level of flexibility when you have an experienced estate planning lawyer who can help you to draft it and ensure that you have considered all the unique aspects of your individual life. You will have both confidence as well as peace of mind that you have considered all of the most important components of estate planning for your children.

U.S. families are increasingly opting to roll things together. In fact, data from a Pew Research Center analysis identified that 20% of the U.S. population lived in multi-generational homes. This brings about important concerns for estate planning. In some cases, this has to do with older children moving back in with their parents in order to make ends meet while carrying through their student loan payments.

Others may involve grandparents who are involved in providing childcare. No matter what your house looks like, including your loved ones in your estate planning and considering the structure of your family is important.

Many adult children are now considering how they can rework their existing housing arrangements to accommodate the needs of aging parents who require additional healthcare support.

This means that estate planning and financial planning must be calculated because good planning is crucial to the success of all of these arrangements. There are many different multi-generational tax, financial and estate planning issues that can arise. Thought must be given in particular to those questions such as who should own the real estate and if that title is taken jointly in a family partnership, trust or otherwise. Inter-family loans might also be one other option to explore. 

Additionally, consider whether or not there exist sufficient assets in the parents’ estate to pay for any estate taxes while also providing for other beneficiaries.

Real estate must also be included in the consideration of the overall estate plan and whether or not the plan is fair for all of the heirs. Deciding who should be included on what assets they should receive is extremely important and can help eliminate conflicts in the future. Navigating the decision-making process means thinking about what it means to include all of your key family members and common missteps that you should always opt to avoid, if possible.

Scheduling a consultation directly with an experienced estate planning attorney is often the first step in getting your questions answered and understanding the various tactics and strategies available to you.

Day to day financial management, liabilities and assets are all of unique concern to people in second marriages or blended families. Whether you are remarrying after the death of a spouse or after a divorce, it is important to enter into this with new and smart financial planning.

There are many different things to consider, including how you will address your future financial wishes and your current financial situation. It helps to begin with a comprehensive review of your liabilities as well as your assets. These liabilities can include student loan debt, credit card balances, mortgages, car loans and more. Your assets can include a house, stocks, bank accounts, cars, insurance contracts and more.

The day to day financial obligations should also be addressed with a new spouse. How will the monthly bills get paid? Some couples choose to put everything in a joint account, whereas others choose to have separate checking account and split their expenses in that manner. No matter what you select, it’s important to engage with an estate planning lawyer and a financial advisor to help.