Estate planning is essential for everyone. An estate plan should identify beneficiaries and provide for the distribution of assets. Today, many people have been married multiple times or are married to someone with children from a previous relationship. This makes blended families very common. However, blended families can be challenging when it comes to creating an estate plan. When you create an estate plan, you want to ensure that your loved ones are properly cared for and that everyone knows what to expect.
Complexities of the Blended Family
Blended families present unique and complex issues for estate planning. Families may include biological children, stepchildren, and children from previous marriages or prior relationships. The more diverse a family dynamic, the more difficult it will be to handle the complexities of an estate plan. Everyone wants to be fair to all the people involved, yet each person has a specific place in the family. Additional complications arise when a couple has not been married for a lengthy period of time or when parties have multiple marriages.
Identify Financial Wishes
One of the most difficult things to do when making an estate plan with a blended family is to address the financial concerns you have. You should make sure that you set up trusts or provide specific instructions for each of the people who are part of your blended family. Make sure you designate the beneficiaries you desire and remove anyone who is no longer in your family. For example, if you are divorced and remarried, make sure to remove your former wife and include your new wife in your estate plan.
Communication
It is important to know that your wishes are the guide to use when deciding beneficiaries and how to distribute your wealth after your death. Keep in mind that in the case of blended families, some of the people may feel that your decisions are unfair. While you can’t always avoid conflict, you can make things easier by communicating your wishes with everyone while you are still alive. This will give everyone a guideline for what to expect, and they will not be surprised by anything they learn after you are gone. It can help by communicating your reasons to family members.
Update Your Estate Plan
By their very nature, blended families are complex, and they often evolve and change. You need to be sure to make the necessary changes and updates to your estate plan as your family changes and additions or deletions are made along the way. You want to make certain that your estate plan is a current reflection of your wishes. If your will is outdated, it could cause problems for those who are left behind, as it may not properly provide a fair distribution of your property.
An estate plan is more critical for blended families than for others because of the complications of relationships. An experienced estate planning attorney will assist you in making an estate plan that properly addresses your needs. Call us at Moen Sheehan Meyer, Ltd. at (608) 784-8310 or contact us online to discuss your legal needs today.