Blended Family Estate Planning

Estate Planning is not a one-size-fits-all process with only one solution, and this is especially true with blended families. This means that the basic questions involved in general estate planning, such as who will handle financial or health care decisions in a crisis, require special, thoughtful choices.

Fair isn't always equal, and there are often deep discussions on dividing an estate among a blended family. Do younger children get more to handle education needs? Do children between the couple get more than the other kids? Are joint versus separate accounts handled differently?

When it comes to deciding on a couple using one trust or two, whether or not to leave everything to the surviving spouse or partner or restrict the inheritance in some way, and how the next generation inherits joint or separate assets can all vary greatly depending on the family structure.