Throughout your life, you would do anything to protect the people that you love. When you plan your estate, you do the same thing in a different way. If you take the right steps, you can be certain that everyone that is relying on you has support to draw from when you are gone.
There are estate planning approaches that can provide this protection in various ways depending on the circumstances. When it comes to remarriage and blended families, there are situations that can get a bit complicated, but there is always a solution.
Communication Is Key
If you are getting remarried as a parent, you should place an emphasis on communication with your spouse-to-be. People are different, and relationships are unique. There is no one accepted way to proceed, and there are so many things to take into consideration.
Your age as it compares to the age of your fiancé is going to be part of the equation, and this also applies to the children that will become part of the blended family. It is a good idea to come to an agreement with regard to the mutual goals, and we can explain the ways that you can achieve them.
Inheritance Protection for Adult Children
There are so many possible scenarios that we cannot begin to cover them all here, but there is one remarriage challenge that we should highlight.
When you have adult children and you are getting remarried, you are naturally going to have concerns about their inheritances. A lot of married people leave everything to their spouses, and they let the survivor decide how the resources will be distributed from that point forward.
This can sometimes work in blended families when there is a well-established fabric, but many couples want built-in protections. People that are in this situation can utilize a specific estate planning tool that can provide the best of both worlds.
Let’s say that you are getting remarried, and you are a bit older than your significant other. It is likely that you will pass away first, and you have done well financially throughout your life.
You have three adult children, and you have to make sure that their inheritances are secure. At the same time, you want to be absolutely certain that your new spouse will be comfortable throughout their life.
To satisfy both aims, you could establish a qualified terminable interest property trust.
When you employ this approach, you fund the trust and name a trustee to act as the administrator. Legally speaking, any adult that is willing to assume the role can act as a trustee, but many people will use a trust company or the trust department of a bank.
If you do predecease your spouse, the trustee would distribute the trust’s earnings to your spouse throughout their life. You could also give the trustee the latitude to make discretionary distributions of the principal if this is what you would like to do.
Your spouse could also use property that is owned by the trust. For example, you could have a home that is held by the trust, and your spouse would be able to live in it for life.
When you establish the trust declaration, you would name your children as the successor beneficiaries. This designation would be etched in stone; the first beneficiary would not be able to change the terms of the trust in any way.
After your surviving spouse’s death, your children would become the final beneficiaries of the trust.
Schedule a Consultation Today!
If you are ready to put an estate plan in place, we are here to help. You can schedule a consultation appointment right now if you give us a call at 248-251-1001. There is also a contact form this website you can use if you would like to send us a message.
