Estate Planning for Married Individuals with Children from a Prior Marriage

Effectively drafting estate plans for married individuals with children from a prior marriage can be a challenge. Failure to properly plan can cause divisive family disputes. There are many variables to be considered and competing interests that need to be balanced when preparing an appropriate plan. A common concern is that the spouses want to take care of each other during their lives, but also want their children from a prior marriage to receive some inheritance. There are generally two techniques to address this concern: 1) an immediate division of assets between the surviving spouse and the children from the prior marriage, or 2) the creation of a trust upon death where the surviving spouse has an interest in the trust for his or her lifetime, and the children receive the remainder upon the death of the surviving spouse. Often a combination of these two techniques is employed.

The advantage to an immediate division of assets is simplicity and certainty. The client identifies which assets are to be distributed to the surviving spouse and which assets are to be distributed to their children. The assets may be divided equally or on some percentage basis among the children and the surviving spouse. Most often, certain assets may be distributed to the spouse and certain assets may be distributed to the children. For example, the surviving spouse may receive the residence and a 401(k) retirement account, and the children from the prior marriage may receive the proceeds of a life insurance policy and an investment account. A drawback to this technique is that there may not be enough assets to provide a lifetime benefit for the surviving spouse. Also, it is important to monitor the basket of assets that is to go to the spouse and children as the asset values will change. The residence may increase in value where the investment account may be used and have a reduced value.

The use of a trust provides more flexibility, allows for the maximum assets for the surviving spouse, and allows for the assets to be divided over time. The surviving spouse receives distributions from the trust assets (either a fixed amount, all of the income, or based upon his or her need) for his or her lifetime. The children from the prior marriage then receive the assets remaining upon the death of the surviving spouse. A key to trust planning such as this is to effectively manage the investment to make the asset last for the life of the surviving spouse, and still provide some assets for the children. Also, a trustee needs to be selected that manages the trust for the benefit of all beneficiaries. A drawback to this technique is that the children from the prior marriage would not receive an inheritance until the death of the surviving spouse.

There are many, many other legal and tax issues that must be considered in this planning. Certain assets have significant tax advantages if given to the surviving spouse, and other assets cannot be given to anyone but the surviving spouse without consent. Also, in Wisconsin, the rules of Marital Property need to be considered in all estate plans for married people. Estate planning for married couples with children from a prior marriage requires careful, thoughtful planning. The two general techniques summarized in this article are often used in tandem to provide an effective comprehensive plan. The key is to establish a comprehensive plan to avoid significant divisive disputes upon the death of a spouse.