Monday, December 20, 2010 NEET Tips
NEET Tips answers questions posed online to the NEET website.
Can you protect your children’s inheritance if you die first and your spouse remarries?
Yes, but you have to avoid simplistic estate planning that leaves everything to your spouse if you die first. Most basic wills leave everything to one’s surviving spouse, who may decide how all the family assets will be distributed upon their death, because they own everything. Instead of leaving everything to your spouse, you can leave your share of the family assets to your children in trust, but give your spouse limited access to the assets in trust for the remainder of his or her life. That way your spouse has access to the assets so that their standard of living can be maintained, but upon your spouse’s death, the assets pass to your children. This is a common planning scenario where blended families are involved. Blended families exist where one or both spouses has children from a prior marriage.
For more information on this topic, see the articles:
How to Avoid Disinheriting Your Children
The Casserole Brigade
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