Blended families are when people get remarried, but have children from a previous marriage. This can be a little trickier for estate planning, but nonetheless, very possible! This has become an increasingly common arrangement.

The biggest concern is ensuring assets are divided accordingly. In the event a Will is left solely to your new spouse, will your children be a factor in the surviving spouse’s own estate planning documents or beneficiaries of accounts you left for your surviving spouse? Do not worry, there are systems in place for this occurrence.

One way to ensure your children will still receive an inheritance from you is a trust. A Trust is established to hold your assets and will state how you want the assets to be distributed. An example, your spouse can receive some assets outright, and an income from other assets. Then when your spouse passes away, your children will receive the assets that your spouse was just receiving income. Just be sure to voice your concerns to your attorney to ensure that your wishes are honored even after your death.

Another example: if you have your new spouse as a beneficiary on your retirement accounts, such as an IRA or 401K. You may have your children listed as your contingent beneficiaries. If you are survived by your spouse, the spouse will now own that retirement account. The contingent beneficiaries are no longer a part of the plan. Your spouse needs to update the beneficiaries, and may not include your children as the primary beneficiaries to the account. Again, these are issues to discuss with your attorney and prepare a plan that will give your spouse the income from the retirement account, but the remainder to your children upon the death of your spouse.

While blended families can seem more complex, it is very important to plan ahead. Even if families are all getting along now, unfortunately, relationships can change after someone passes away. Your new spouse also will have similar concerns to make sure his or her children, or other family members are not forgotten. Just be sure to sit down with your new spouse and any family members you wish to involve and discuss your wishes in the event of your passing. At the end of the day these decisions are yours to make, whether that coincides with the wishes of all parties involved, or not. Contact us to get started with your estate plan.