A significant number of divorces result in remarriage for one or both spouses. That remarriage often creates a blended family. If you find yourself part of a blended family, you may be concerned about how to create your estate plan to ensure that your new spouse and your beneficiaries are protected. Our attorney at Amato Law, PLLC can help you create an estate plan that protects your blended family.
How Remarriage Impacts Your Estate Plan
If you are planning to remarry, or have already done so, understanding how that remarriage impacts your estate plan is essential. Typically, spouses who are getting married for the first time create reciprocal estate plans that leave everything to each other. The surviving spouse then passes down the remaining assets to the children upon his/her death. If that marriage ends in divorce, and a subsequent marriage results in a blended family, those reciprocal estate plans no longer work. Instead, you will want to protect and provide for both your current spouse and your children from the first marriage within your estate plan. Reviewing and revising your existing estate plan is crucial to accomplishing both goals.
Estate Planning Tools and Strategies for the Blended Family
At a minimum, you will likely want to update your Last Will and Testament, review fiduciary positions (such as Executor or Trustee), and replace current Agents under a power of attorney and/or health care proxy when you remarry and create a blended family. Along with these updates to your estate plan, you may wish to create a special type of Trust that can provide for both your new spouse and protect assets intended for previous children. For example, a Qualified Terminable Interest Property trust, commonly known as a “QTIP” Trust, is often created for blended families who want to provide financial security for the surviving spouse while also protecting and preserving assets for their children. This is only one example of the creative strategies that can be crafted to address your unique concerns.
Contact Us
The estate planning attorney at Amato Law, PLLC understands your desire to protect all your loved ones when you create a blended family. We can help you do just that by reviewing your existing plan and helping you make any necessary revisions to that plan. Contact our office today by calling 212-355-5255 or filling out our online contact form.
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