How to estate plan after a second marriage

Being part of a blended family can make estate planning harder. Therefore, it is important that those in North Carolina and throughout the country who are getting married for a second time review their current plan. Updating beneficiary and insurance forms can help to protect children from a previous marriage. If assets are left solely to a new spouse, there is no guarantee that this person will share them with those children.

A trust may be an effective tool to ensure that both a spouse and children from a previous marriage are taken care of. The use of an AB trust can allow a surviving spouse to maintain a reasonable standard of living after the trust’s creator passes on. Once the second spouse dies, the children get whatever is left in the trust. The trust can also help provide for biological sons and daughters if the surviving spouse remarries.

The document will be overseen by a person or entity who should be able to act in a beneficiary’s best interest. It’s also possible to leave assets directly to a child upon a parent’s passing. This may be ideal for parents who don’t want to make their children wait for their inheritance. However, putting assets in a trust could have tax benefits that aren’t realized when assets are transferred directly at death or some other point in time.

A revocable trust may be an important part of an estate plan as it can help to meet a variety of goals. Trusts may be overseen either by a person or an entity, and in some cases, an attorney may be a good choice to act as a trustee. As opposed to wills, the terms of a trust can go into effect immediately and without the need for probate.