Family dynamics have changed over the years, becoming increasingly varied. This can make planning for the future a difficult prospect, with many legal intricacies and social factors that must be considered to make sure that all of your wishes are honored and that your estate is handled properly.
Estate Planning for Blended Families
Blended families are very common nowadays, with 42% of adults having some type of step-relationship in the United States. These families are composed of divorced, widowed, or remarried individuals and their family members. Estate planning for blended families can be complicated by intestacy laws, community property statutes, and spousal rights. All of these require special attention when building testamentary instruments such as a will or trust.
It is easy to make mistakes when creating an estate plan for a blended family. That’s one reason to secure the services of a qualified estate planning attorney to make sure all the documents are correct. It is also possible that spouses and former spouses might disagree on how the wealth should be distributed, who will care for children in case of a parent’s death, which assets would be passed along to whom, and more.
Some of the most important questions to ask before estate planning are:
- What will happen when you pass away?
- Who will make medical and other decisions for you if you weren’t able to?
- How will your children be provided for?
- Who will be the guardian of your children in case you die?
- How will your spouse be provided for?
- Will you distribute any of your wealth to current and former spouses?
- If your spouse and yourself cannot agree, will you need two separate attorneys?
- Do you have a prenuptial agreement to take into consideration?
Once you make decisions for what you would like to happen in the event of your death or major disability, the next step is to contact a lawyer to structure your plan and put everything in writing. While there are many free estate-planning services online, they are not detailed enough to handle blended family situations.
Properly setting up estate plans can be expensive. However, they can save you a ton of money and time down the road if you compare costs versus benefits. Not to mention, you gain peace of mind knowing that your wishes will be followed when you pass away.
Estate Planning for Single Individuals
There are more single people today than ever before. According to the United States census, nearly 50% of all Americans live as singles, whether they have been divorced, widowed, or never married.
A lot of singles do not realize the importance of estate planning, because they do not have any dependents. However, single people also face the same issues married people do in regards to the planning of their wealth distribution once they pass away. Singles also face some special situations, such as who calls the shots in cases of medical issues or to whom their wealth will be distributed if they have no living relatives. Also, in case of a coma or a health situation where the single person is unable to make decisions for himself, who will make estate decisions?
Questions like these need to be considered, and careful thought needs to be given to estate planning, even for singles. Contact the compassionate estate planning attorneys at Clear Counsel Law Group for a consultation to learn more about the options and costs for building an estate plan.