October 20, 2020

Becoming a blended family presents unique opportunities and some challenges with regard to your financial and estate planning. In 40% of all new marriages in the United States, at least one of the spouses was previously married. There are unique financial and estate planning dynamics that can come from merging families, especially as it relates to financial values, existing documents, money philosophies and even your spending habits.

There’s a good chance that the way you talk to your individual children about finances is different too. From savings plans to allowances, it’s important for you and your new spouse to get on the same page. In these circumstances, it’s a good idea to look at existing documents that both of you are bringing into the marriage.

Estate planning must be tackled together with your new family in order to ensure that your estate planning documents and strategies accomplish your goals. Once you’re married, your blended family should quickly reevaluate existing estate planning processes.

It’s important to think about how you will care for your children from your previous marriage and ensure that they are not accidentally excluded from your estate planning that you update across the board to reflect your new family arrangements. In addition to making sure that your new spouse is taken care of, you’ll want to talk with an estate planning lawyer to verify whether or not your existing estate planning documents protect your children from a previous marriage the way that you intended.

For further information about this process, schedule a time to talk with a dedicated estate planning lawyer.

Since blended families have so much to think about, you need dedicated advocates in your corner to help you.