Blended Family Estate Planning Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

I know some of us may still be reveling in our Valentine’s Day celebrations, but often an attorney’s job is to point out where potential hazards lie, even in something that seems as joyful as love. You may call it being a buzzkill, but I call it being practical.

In this case, I’m talking about re-marriage. And, given that 50% of marriages end in divorce, and 60% of re-marriages end in divorce, this topic is quite apropos.

When a family unit is made up of multiple family units—that is, where at least one spouse has prior children—we’re dealing with a so-called “Blended Family,” and family structures of this type face a myriad of unique estate planning challenges.

The harder part is that there is no archetypal “blended family"; the possible configurations are virtually endless. This complexity means there are more opportunities to make hazardous estate planning errors.

To repeat a metaphor from the longer post, I like to think of it like a golf course. Estate planning for a “traditional” family is like playing a par 3 with a full set of clubs: All the tools are in the bag, and you just need help picking which one to use in which situation.

On the other hand, a blended family is like a par 6, with a 10-foot-wide fairway, 10-inch deep rough, and Sarlacc pits instead of sand traps: The traditional set of tools just aren’t going to work.

To extend the metaphor, if you insist on trying to use the normal set of clubs for this beastly par 6, you’re likely to run into serious trouble. The good news is that if you identify these common pitfalls, you can also learn how to avoid them.

New & Updated FAQs

Since it’s a new year, we’ve updated some of FAQs to reflect the most recent information and added brand-new ones too. If you have any questions about estate planning fundamentals, asset protection strategies, or the probate process, check out our FAQ Page to get an answer.

Or, if you don’t see your question answered there, send me an email at Paul@PLabinerEsq.com with your question and I’ll be sure to answer it in an upcoming newsletter!

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Thank you for reading. I would love to hear from you if you have any topic suggestions for future newsletters. I want this to be as practical and useful for you as possible.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact me about any estate planning issues you are having or to forward this newsletter to others who may have estate planning needs.

Sincerely,