The New American Family

I read an article the other day stating that there are more "blended" than traditional families in the United States. A blended family can be loosely defined as one where children in the household do not share the same parents (as a result of second marriages, etc.). Regardless of whether the statistics are true, there are certainly many blended families in this country. These families need to address their estate planning with even greater care and consideration.

The first question to ask is "where do I want my assets to pass when I die?" Where all children are shared by both spouses, the answer is typically "to my spouse, if he or she is living" (with the understanding that the surviving spouse will one day provide for your children). However, if you have a child from a previous marriage and leave everything to your new spouse, there is no guarantee (absent more advanced planning) that your surviving spouse would ever benefit your child.

Terrible controversies can arise in blended families where there is a lack of thoughtful estate planning. Another common dilemma is a parent leaving all personal property (e.g., collectibles, china, jewelry, guns) to a new spouse (to the exclusion of a child). Such a common bequest could cause resentment and ill feeling, as the child may feel that their step-parent now has all of their parent's sentimental family property. A parent may alleviate this controversy by simply leaving a few sentimental family items directly to their children.

There are unfortunately many anecdotal examples of conflicts in blended families. Most of these conflicts can be easily avoided or alleviated by simply engaging in basic planning. The starting point is to begin asking yourself, "what if ..."