The biggest estate-planning question when getting remarried is, how do I reconcile preserving assets for my children from a previous marriage while still taking care of my commitment to my new spouse? Usually, heirs fear the new spouse because most all states give rights to a spouse to take some part of the decedent spouse’s estate. An ex-spouse could also still hold they key to certain assets if your estate-planning documents are not up to date before passing. Therefore, consider updating your estate-planning documents, including provisions about your new spouse as executor, the holding of assets individually or jointly, your new spouse on deeds, and specific bequeaths to children from previous marriages. Additionally, there are some common estate-planning mistakes after remarrying that you should avoid, such as no prenuptial, no verbal instructions to loved ones, and no planning for long-term care.
See Deborah Nason, Getting Remarried? Protect Your Assets and Your Interests, CNBC, July 28, 2016.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.
