Having a blended family can make estate planning more complicated and harder to properly lay out your plan for the future. These families may be a mix of children from previous marriage, stepchildren, or children with your spouse, and creating a plan that lays out how you want them to inherit your estate is important. It is important to understand the different ways you can plan your future, and working with an estate planning attorney can help you create a plan that protects you and your family well beyond your death.
What Makes Estate Planning Difficult For Blended Families
In non-blended families, when a parent passes away, their assets get passed to their spouse and eventually to their children. When a parent from a blended family passes, they may want to allocate their assets differently. They may decide to make sure their spouse has what they need to live comfortably and also pass certain assets to their stepchildren from another relationship. Making an estate plan with a lawyer will allow you to create a plan that works for your family dynamic. This will allow you to leave your assets the way you always intended and you will also be able to pick a trustee who will communicate your wishes. If you do not have a clear plan made, Ohio law and probate will determine who will inherit your property. This ultimately may be completely different than how you envisioned your assets being allocated.
What Happens When There Is No Estate Plan?
If you pass away without an estate plan, the probate court will determine who will inherit your assets. These rulings may not reflect how you would have personally divided your assets amongst your blended family. Your personal relationships are not reflected in this decision. This is why it is important to properly document how you would like your assets to be divided amongst your surviving family. This small task can make a huge difference in your future and can even help you avoid probate.
Blended Families: Stepchildren And Understanding Ohio Law
Making an estate plan is especially important if you are planning to leave an inheritance for a stepchild. In Ohio, stepchildren are not considered their stepparents child, unless the stepparent legally adopted them. This common misconception becomes a big issue for blended families who do not make an estate plan. If you are looking to create a customized plan that will carefully allocate specific assets to certain individuals in your blended family, Taneff Law can help you make a plan that keeps everyone involved protected.
Family Conflicts And Complications Your Blended Family Can Face Without A Plan In Place
Not having a plan in place can create several complications for your blended family after you pass. Not only can it cause confusion and disagreements, but your assets can also end up being divided differently than you may want. For instance, if you want your home to be passed to your children from another relationship, but your surviving spouse inherits the property because you did not specify your wishes, your surviving spouse could sell the property or even decide to leave it to their own children from a previous relationship. This can leave you with family conflicts and also cause disputes. Having an estate plan can clearly set expectations for everyone involved.
Protect Your Family With A Will
Using a will to create an estate plan is a great way to protect your family. A will can allow you to clearly lay out your heirs as well as determine who in your family will receive which benefits. Using this tool will allow you to leave specific parts of your assets directly to a certain individual. For example, you may decide to leave your surviving spouse a sum of money, your biological children a specific piece of property you owned, and maybe you have stepchildren that you want to leave certain assets with. Laying this out in a legal will can ensure that your wishes are followed exactly how you intended.
Trusts Can Provide Flexibility And Fair Distribution For Your Family
Utilizing revocable trusts can allow your family to receive assets as you intended while still protecting them well beyond your passing. With the use of trusts, you are able to provide your surviving spouse access to your assets. But when they pass, trusts can designate the remainder of your assets to specific heirs or beneficiaries and ensure fair distribution. Trusts can also be used as a way to provide your children with an inheritance. Using legal trusts can allow you to pass your property onto your children in increments or with specific conditions instead of them receiving everything all at once.
Getting Started Is Easy
Creating an estate plan seems like an overwhelming task, but it is easy when you have the right team behind you. Working with an estate planning attorney from Taneff Law can make the entire process uncomplicated and easy to understand. Our team has been servicing the Columbus, Ohio area since 1989. We work with people every day who have blended families, and we make sure that their future is secure and set exactly how they want.
If you have a blended family and are looking to start planning for your future, the team at Taneff Law can help you get started. We will help guide you through the entire process and make sure you and your loved ones are set up for the future. Let us help you identify your wants for your family, and we will give you the tools and strategies to follow through.
Contact Taneff Law Today To Learn About Estate Plans And Estate Taxes
The attorneys at Taneff Law can help blended families understand all the estate planning options available to them. We are experts in family law and can help you create estate plans that are tailored to you and your family’s needs. Your wishes must be clearly communicated so your assets are passed down as you anticipated. Contact Taneff Law today to get started. We are here to show you how you can protect the people you care about the most.