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If you have a will, you can certainly change the terms as you see fit at any time. However, there are some good reasons why you may want to consider other options when you are getting remarried as a parent with children from a previous marriage.
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The major reason is the possibility that your children will be disinherited. Even if you are sure that your new spouse will honor your verbal wishes, there are no guarantees.
You really can’t predict how your relationship will progress over the years. This applies to you and your spouse, and you have no way of knowing how your children and your spouse will get along.
If you predecease your spouse, they could get remarried, and there will be a new, powerful influence over the decision-making process.
You can trust that your spouse will do right by your children under any circumstances, but you would be taking a risk.
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You could establish a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust. Your spouse would be the first beneficiary, and your children would be the final beneficiaries.
When you are creating the trust, you would name a trustee to act as the administrator after you are gone. The trustee would provide distributions of the trust’s earnings to your spouse if you pass away first. Your surviving spouse would also be able to use property that is owned by the trust.
It would be possible to give the trustee the latitude to make discretionary distributions of the principal if you choose to do so.
Your spouse would not be able to change the terms in any way, and this would include the beneficiary designations. After the death of your surviving spouse, your children would inherit the assets that remain in the trust.
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From a legal perspective, any adult that is of sound mind that is willing to assume the role can act as a trustee. However, there are a lot of things to take into consideration before you make this choice.
Longevity would certainly be a source of concern, and the person should have a good bit of financial acumen. You would also do well to choose someone that has no particular bias toward the initial beneficiary or the successors.
With the above in mind, you could go in a different direction and engage a professional fiduciary. Trust companies and the trust departments of banks provide trustee services. Yes, there is a fee, but it can be well worth it in many cases.
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The children would be left out until your spouse passes away if you create the trust and leave it at that. In addition to the lack of an immediate financial boost, for want of a different word, it’s a weird situation for the children.
To account for this, you can make sure that your children receive some of their inheritances at the time of your death when you are planning your estate.
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You may be unable to communicate health care decisions at the end of your life. Incapacity can also impact your ability to handle your own financial affairs.
In some cases, a stepparent will try to prevent the biological children from being part of the decision-making process. When you are devising your estate plan, you can address possible incapacity and name agents to act on your behalf in advance.
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Schedule a Consultation Today!
As you can see, there are serious elder law issues that should be addressed. When you develop a plan for aging that facilitates the effective passing of your legacy, you can go forward with peace of mind as the years pass.
If you are ready to get started, we are here to help. You can schedule a consultation appointment if you call us at 802-879-7133, and you can fill out our contact form if you would prefer to send us a message.
