Estate Planning Strategies to Stop Your Blended Family From Imploding
Some types of family conflict are naturally self-limiting. How many siblings who used to fight like cats and dogs when they were children become each other’s strongest supporters after they reach adulthood? Waging war against your stepparents is a full-time job when you are a teenager, but once you are an adult and no longer living under the same roof as your stepparent, all the things you can’t stand about him or her have a way of occupying less real estate in your mind. When people remarry late in life, conflicts between stepparents and stepchildren are usually a pale shadow of the conflicts that happen in blended families with minor children, except when it comes to estate planning decisions. Many of the ugliest probate battles ever fought involve a stepmother and her stepchildren fighting over the estate of a man that both parties loved, with each side accusing the other of undue influence during the decedent’s final years. If you do not want this to happen to your family, even though you are retired and engaged to remarry, contact a Dade City estate planning lawyer.
Sign a Prenuptial Agreement and Update Your Estate Plan to Match It
Prenuptial agreements are not just for people whose financial prosperity comes at the expense of being able to trust anyone. They are as effective at preventing conflict in families where the couple stays married until one spouse dies as they are at preventing conflict in divorce.
Consider that the surviving spouse is the only family member who has the right to override the decedent’s will. Specifically, the surviving spouse can petition the probate court to award him or her an elective spousal share if the decedent disinherited the surviving spouse or left him or her only a paltry inheritance. If you don’t want your spouse to do this, you should sign a prenup where both spouses waive their right to an elective share of the other’s estate. The prenup should also address other matters regarding which property belongs to which spouse, in life and in death. Then you should update your will to ensure that it does not conflict with your prenuptial agreement.
Appoint a Neutral Party to Be Personal Representative of Your Estate
To avoid accusations of unfairness, or worse, undue influence, you should make concessions to both parties. Be generous to your children and also to your spouse, instead of leaving most of your estate to one party while the other gets chump change. If you think they will be determined to fight over your estate, then transfer most of your property to non-probate assets; set up one trust for the benefit of your spouse and another for the benefit of your children. Choose a lawyer, not a family member, to be the personal representative of your estate or the trustee of your trust.
Contact a Florida Estate Planning Attorney About Estate Planning for Blended Families
An estate planning attorney can help you prevent the probate of your estate from becoming a battle between a stepparent and stepchildren. Contact The Law Office of Laurie R. Chane in Dade City, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
katiecouric.com/lifestyle/relationships/why-you-should-get-a-prenup/
