Thursday, March 10, 2011 NEET Tips
NEET Tips answers questions posed online to the NEET website
How can I ensure my children receive an inheritance if I die and my spouse remarries?
You can accomplish this through a will or a trust. If through a will, you simply name your children as beneficiaries. Keep in mind that in Vermont, as in many states, your spouse has a right to what’s known as an “elective share” whereby they can inherit a portion of your estate regardless of what your will states. One problem with the will approach is that if you leave a sizable portion of your estate to your children, your spouse might need to scale back their standard of living. For this reason, many people opt for a trust that is structured so that the surviving spouse has limited access to the deceased spouse’s assets for the remainder of the surviving spouse’s life, but upon the death of the surviving spouse, the assets pass to the first decedent’s children. By creating the trust structure, you are allowing your spouse to maintain their standard of living, while ensuring that the remaining funds eventually pass to your children. This structure is recommended for many clients, but especially those in blended families, where one or both spouses have children from a prior marriage. |