Estate Planning Blended Families Australia

In estate planning for blended families.

Estate planning blended families australia.

For estate planners dealing with the control of a trust in the event of death is compounded by issues faced by blended families with competing interests. As a funeral celebrant robyn o connell 61 is constantly reminded that death can come at any time. Mike and carol brady were the iconic blended family each bringing 3 children into the marriage and raising them as one big happy family. These are a few common scenarios.

What many australians do not understand is that assets held in trust cannot be dealt with by a will and do not form part of a deceased estate. Barnes richard e. Her funeral is all planned but when it comes to wills she and her second husband david 56 have writer s block. Unfortunately if proper planning is not undertaken what often occurs in the blended family context is that one branch of the family receives the entire estate and the other branch of the family receives nothing.

Estate planning for blended families is a form of asset protection. Even with advice estate planning for blended families can hardly be called straightforward. Premarital and marital agreements. When it comes to estate planning for a blended family the concept of yours mine and ours can complicate the process to the point that family dynamics become permanently strained.

Estate planning for blended families second marriage and step children require special planning to ensure your spouse and your children are protected. Depending on a family s situation and needs an estate planning attorney can help select and execute one of the following strategies. In these situations the objectives of planning an estate include providing for the surviving spouse in the second marriage providing for children of the second marriage and ensuring that assets flow to children of the first marriage. I wonder what their estate planning looked like.

Identifying your goals and concerns in estate planning for blended families. Estate planning for blended family wills can be a difficult task for clients entering their second or third marriage particularly when both parties bring children from a prior marriage. Balancing your planning for spouses children and stepchildren in estate planning for blended families.