Many of our clients are blended families. We often represent couples who have children by prior marriage. Special care is important for these estate plans to ensure the intent of both spouses is carried out.
For example, the couple may want all of their assets to go to each other in the event of the death of one spouse, but they also may want assurance that their children by prior marriage are not disinherited.
These objectives often require additional provisions in the estate planning documents of our clients. Further consideration may be given to whether our blended family clients want to execute an agreement to protect the inheritance of their separate children.
Our blended family clients will normally include in their estate plan either wills or one or more living trusts. It is possible to also include a community property agreement and powers of attorney for the blended family, but extreme care should be taken to avoid jeopardizing the inheritance of the children under those documents.
We enjoy working with blended families and appreciate the challenges they face in their desire to be fair to all concerned.