When your first marriage ends in divorce, it may take some time before you are ready to pursue a relationship again. If you are lucky enough to find the right person, you may start planting a blended family together.
Before you get married, you may want to sit down to review your estate plan and your personal legacy goals. Remarriage is often an ideal opportunity to update your existing estate plan and better protect yourself, as well as the people that you love.
You can check for any outdated inclusions
Divorce is also a time when you should update your estate plan, but you may not have made any changes after the end of your first marriage. If your former spouse is still a beneficiary or if you included them in any of your other documents, like a power of attorney, your remarriage is a great opportunity to replace your ex as a beneficiary or someone entrusted with authority.
Consider your children and the needs of your spouse
One of the biggest conflicts that can arise during estate administration for someone who remarried is a dispute between their new spouse and any children from their first marriage. It’s crucial that you think about what will happen to your property, what you would like to leave for your children, and what your spouse depends on you for when updating your plan.
You can leave resources and support for a spouse without leaving your new partner in control of the inheritance that your children should receive. Integrating a trust into your estate plan can be a valuable step if you think there’s a possibility for conflict between your spouse and your children after you die.
Changing the way that you own certain property could protect the access or inheritance rights of certain individuals. You may also want to consider adding a no-contest clause to your estate plan so that neither your spouse nor your children can challenge your documents in court without risking their inheritance by doing so.
Transparency is crucial during estate planning
You certainly don’t want to start your marriage out with your spouse feeling like you lied to or tricked them. Openly talking about your estate plan and legacy wishes with both your future spouse and your children can reduce the possibility of disappointment or conflict marring how people remember you. Careful estate planning is one way to help set your new blended family up for long-term success.