Estate Planning for Blended Families
A blended family can take many forms: a family in which one spouse has two or more children from a previous marriage; a family whose children have been married more than once, or a family with a son or daughter-in-law who has children from a previous marriage. If you have a blended family, it’s important to make sure you have a will or other estate planning documents in place to ensure your inheritance goes where you want it to go.
Read on to learn more about the unique estate planning concerns of blended families.
Living Trusts
While a will can generally meet most estate planning needs, creating a living trust might be the better option for larger, more complex families. A living trust can be changed throughout your lifetime as your family changes, and allows you a greater amount of control over the distribution of your property to beneficiaries. Most of the time, trusts don’t need to go through probate courts before your assets can be distributed, which will save your surviving family time and money.
Surviving Spouse & Stepchildren
Without a will or living trust in place, your estate may not be distributed in the way you’d like. If you want specific members of your family to inherit specific amounts of your property, you’ll need a will or living trust to guarantee that outcome.
If you want your step-children or step-grandchildren to inherit some of your estate, you must make provisions for them in your will or trust.
Updating Estate Planning Documents
After you execute your will, living trust, or other estate planning documents, you or one of your family members might divorce or remarry, and you may gain new step-children. When this happens, it’s important to review and update your documents to reflect these changes. Whether you want to keep your current beneficiaries or add new ones, any changes in the structure of your family should be incorporated into your existing estate plan.
The Law Office of Katherine Kim, PLLC helps all sorts of families prepare for their future with comprehensive estate planning packages. Give us a call today at 214-814-5123 or send an email to admin@katherinekimlaw.com to schedule your consultation today!