Planning for blended families
In the 1960s, estate planning attorneys had it easy. All families (at least so we are told) had a husband, a wife, two and a half children, and a picket fence.
Today, families come in all shapes and colors. We’ve worked with blended families, longtime partners who never married, and poly families.
The most common of these groups are blended families. As with all families, blended families have the same basic comprehensive estate planning needs as any of our clients. However, there are special considerations that our clients who are blended families need to address.
Special Considerations for Blended Families
Because blended families have spouses or partners with different children, they have to balance their desire to provide for their spouse with their desire to provide for their children from a prior relationship.
Because a surviving spouse can change their plan at any time, traditional plans that give everything to a surviving spouse may not be appropriate for blended families. In many cases, plans for blended families include a mix of gifts to children from a prior relationship and gifts to a surviving spouse. They also typically include a common distribution plan for assets passing between spouses.
For a longer discussion of how we approach planning for blended families, our article on this topic is available here.
Getting started
As with all of our planning, plans for blended families start with a no obligation consultation with an attorney. To get started, call our office to schedule your consultation. We look forward to working with you!