Minnesota Wills and Trusts: Remarriage: How It Often Poses Unique Estate Planning Challenges

While it can be wonderful to be a part of a large loving family, that goal is often frustrated when two previously married individuals choose to get married again.

Far too often, one or both will have older children who resent the presence of the new spouse in their lives. They may also be upset that there are now new beneficiaries vying for their parents assets, and want to receive their own inheritance money early. All of these difficulties are frequently left up to the parents estate planning attorneys to try and sensitively manage while moving forward.

In an ABA article entitled, Til Death Do Us Part (Again): Estate Planning for Second Marriages, attorney Richard E. Barnes addresses many of the specific estate planning conflicts that arise during second marriages. He provides some excellent advice for handling these issues starting with the estate planning lawyers initial engagement letter and a helpful checklist. What follows is a general overview of several of his most important suggestions.

Best Ways for Newly Married, Older Couples to Facilitate Updates of Their Estate Plans

• Youll need to bring copies of all current divorce decrees, prenuptial/ante-nuptial agreements, and prior estate planning documents to your lawyers office. Try to arrive fully aware that both of you are probably still working through some rather painful emotions regarding your past spouses. When this reality is understood as a norm, clients often start out feeling a bit less tense about their feelings.

Couples must realize that the reason a lawyer must read all of these prior legal documents is not the sign of taking sides or favoring one spouse [and or his/her children of a first marriage] over the other. Its simply necessary to fully understand what legal obligations must still be upheld, while also trying to meet the newly married couples goals and preferences to the full extent possible. Should any type of impasse be reached, the more distressed spouse will be fully supported in hiring his/her own attorney to be sure all new estate planning documents fulfill every possible goal in a nonpartisan manner. Separate Wills are usually preferable anyway especially after a couple has decided how it wants to provide for various kids from prior marriages and any from their current one;

• Be willing to have open and honest discussions with your Minnesota estate planning attorney about all ongoing child support or alimony payments that must still be made to prior spouses. Many couples often discover unexpected jealousies and hard feelings that must be addressed, especially since court orders have already been entered which require these ongoing payments. If these issues cant be easily resolved in your separate attorneys’ offices, give serious thought to obtaining some marital counseling so that both parties can feel more secure in the marriage;
• Stay open-minded about special ways to fund certain inheritances. Adult children from prior marriages often resent the presence of a much young spouse in their lives, especially after their biological parent has died and they cannot receive more money until the house the surviving spouse is living in is sold or other assets are liquidated. One way Mr. Barnes suggests handling this is to set up certain assets like insurance policies to pay out to the adult children upon their separate parents death, even though other assets are not yet available to them. Trust accounts can also be used in this manner perhaps even directly tied to covering the academic expenses or medical needs of one or more children, as they develop or are needed;
• Be aware that second marriages often involve much more sophisticated tax considerations during estate planning. Whether both spouses entered the new marriage equally well-off or only one person arrived with significant wealth, youll need to give your lawyer your undivided attention while all of the tax consequences tied to your desired estate plans are explained. Tax apportionment issues can be rather complex. Furthermore, if one party has far less money than the other, a gift of funds from one spouse to the other may be necessary in the form of a Minnesota revocable trust.

Finally, all parties involved need to realize that patience will help them more than any other trait. If both spouses will also remain open and honest, they can then concentrate on showing their love for each other by being fair about all pre-existing legal obligations.

Minnesota Estate Planning Lawyers and Attorneys

For more information on how you might set-up a Minnesota estate plan for the benefit of your children, contact the firm at612-424-0398.