Second Marriage? Revocable Trusts Can Be Helpful for Life Insurance Planning

If you are getting married for the second time, how can you make sure that both your spouse and children from a previous marriage are provided for in life insurance policies?

If you already have life insurance with your first spouse as designated beneficiary, you should immediately change that beneficiary. Then you have to decide who to name as the replacement beneficiary. It is risky to name your children to the exclusion of your spouse, and also to name your spouse to the possible exclusion of your children.

One possible solution is to create a revocable trust and name the trust as the beneficiary of the life insurance policy. Upon your death, the life insurance policy can fund the trust, which you can set up however you would like. It is always best to consult with an attorney about what your best option may be, but the revocable trust is certainly a possibility.

See Second Marriages and Life Insurance, Elder Law Answers, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.