Estate Planning for Blended Families in New York: What to Consider

Conflict between stepparents and stepchildren is a source of virtually endless interesting discourse. Once the drinks start to flow, your friends will tell you about how no one can push their buttons quite like their stepchildren; stepchildren are a reminder that your spouse has never belonged exclusively to you, and you will never have your spouse all to yourself. The friends who do not have stepchildren will tell you about times when their own stepparents slighted them decades ago, with such raw bitterness that you would think that it only happened yesterday. In a perfect world, people would get past the drama and start treating their step-relatives like families once the children reach adulthood, and in fact, this happens in some families. When a parent remarries late in life, though, the parent’s adult children can wage war in ways beyond the wildest dreams of their bratty juvenile counterparts. Nowhere is this more evident than after the death or during the infirmity of the spouse who has children from a previous marriage. For help updating your estate plan when you are about to remarry, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.

Why Is Estate Planning So Complicated for Blended Families?

Estate planning for blended families is complicated because there is more at stake than which person inherits what; it is which lineage inherits what. If Stepmom inherits Dad’s house after he dies, then she can leave it to anyone she chooses in her own will. It can go to her own children or to her siblings, or if she has no other family, she can instruct the personal representative of her estate to sell the house and give the proceeds to her favorite animal rescue charity. The house or the money one can get from its sale will be out of the hands of Dad’s descendants forever.

To make matters worse, a surviving spouse is the only family member who can override the will by claiming an elective spousal share, if he or she receives little or no inheritance when one interprets the decedent’s will at face value. This can lead to messy probate battles, with allegations of undue influence flying around.

Keeping Your Finances At Least Partially Separate Can Promote Family Togetherness

If you want your new spouse to feel like a part of your family even after you are gone, the best thing you can do is set in writing which property belongs to your lineal descendants and which property belongs to your spouse and her side of the family. You should sign a prenuptial agreement and update your will to match your prenup. Some people even choose to let their descendants inherit their estate, while setting up a trust for the new spouse.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney

An estate planning lawyer can help you draft estate planning documents that prevent conflict between your children from your first marriage and your new spouse. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.201.html