Taking the Right Steps to Protect Yourself and All Your Loved Ones
According to data gathered during the most recent federal census, nearly half of all American households fall under the definition of “blended” families, with at least one partner or parent having a child from a previous relationship. That can raise a number of significant issues when putting together an estate plan. In far too many instances, one of the following scenarios occurs:
- One or both of the parties have a will or other estate plan from their previous marriage, but they don’t revise it to take their new family into account.
- The parties have no will or estate plan and leave distribution of their estate to the laws of intestacy.
- The parties assume that if they leave everything to their new spouse, their new spouse will include all children in any subsequent estate plan or distribution.
In all of these situations, the potential for conflict is substantial.
The Importance of Immediately Addressing Estate Planning When You Create a Blended Family
As a general rule, anytime you’ve had a major life change, you should contact your estate planning attorney to determine what, if any, revisions need to be made to your plan. For example, your original will or estate plan may have been made when you were married to a person of approximately the same age as you. The expectation, then, is that even if you predecease your spouse, your spouse is likely to predecease your children, and your children will inherit some portion of your estate.
However, if you remarry someone who is substantially younger than you ( maybe even the same age as your adult children), you can’t expect them to predecease your children. If you leave everything to that spouse (or if you fail to prepare an estate plan and allow the laws of intestacy to govern the distribution of your estate), you may dramatically reduce, or even eliminate, your children’s share of your estate.
Effective Estate Planning Strategies for Blended Families
Here are some estate planning tools you can use to ensure that your estate plan will meet the needs of your blended family:
- Be specific in your estate plan—Whether you prepare and execute a will or create a trust, take the time to consider all potential beneficiaries and all possible scenarios. You have a great deal of flexibility in the language of a will or trust, but you must put your wishes in writing. Discuss matters with your spouse, come up with a plan that you both endorse, and hire an attorney to formalize that plan.
- Be certain to name anyone you want to receive property—Don’t leave everything to a primary beneficiary and expect that they will give something to other family members. If you want to be certain that your children receive part of your estate, you must name them in your estate plan and clearly state what property they are to receive.
- Designate beneficiaries in your insurance policies and retirement plans—You can put together the most comprehensive trust or will, but your efforts will be compromised if you don’t address assets that pass outside of your estate. Be careful to name both primary and contingent beneficiaries.
Let Bailey & Galyen Help You Create and Implement an Effective Estate Plan for Your Blended Family
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we bring more than 40 years of experience to people in Texas and nationwide who want to ensure the orderly distribution of their estate in the event of their death. We will carefully explain the different tools available and work closely with you to put a plan in place that meets your individualized needs. To learn more about how we can help you create and implement an effective estate plan, contact us by e-mail or call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
