A New Start

On average, over 12% of Americans decide to get married a second time, and 3% get married 3 or more times. Whether the previous marriage ended in divorce or death, getting married a second time can be stressful – and we aren’t just talking about the wedding planning. It is important to dive into how this next marriage will impact your estate, children, and finances. So where should you begin?

Some major questions to start with include what debts each person has, whether you will join bank accounts, whether will you keep your assets, whether will anything be left to your children, and more. Typically, people start these questions by working on a prenuptial agreement. This will help in case of a divorce or even upon your or your spouse’s death to dictate what assets will go where.

The next step would be to revisit your estate plan or begin on one if you have never had one. This will help you update or create powers of attorney (POAs), change beneficiaries to various accounts and insurance policies, update your will, create new guardians for your children, and update your trust. One of the biggest parts here is regarding your children. If both spouses have children from other relationships and plan to have kids together, it can begin to create a little chaos when trying to decide how to have each child protected, future possible guardians appointed, and how assets would be distributed in the future. Trusts are a great way to protect all current and future children. JDSupra. A trust will protect your children from any bad spending habits they may have, utilize tax exemptions, and protect assets such as insurance policies. JDSupra.

Need help to pick out the right people for each part of your Estate Plan or how to decipher each different document? Check out our previous blogs and for more information on what may work the best in your estate plan, reach out to the Professionals at The Center for Financial, Legal, & Tax Planning Inc., at (618) 997-3436.