Estate Planning in a Second Marriage

When you are married, estate planning is something you should often do in conjunction with your spouse. This is especially true when you have recently been remarried and are now in a second marriage. It will be important for you and your spouse to take into account estate planning issues pertaining to such matters as children (if any) from your previous marriages, the possibility of children in your second marriage, combined assets, and more. What should you consider when it comes to estate planning in a second marriage? Our Summit estate planning attorneys can provide you with more information, and we can speak with you today about the particulars in your case.

Children from a Previous Marriage 

If either you or your new spouse have children from a previous marriage, it will be important to consider how and what you want them to inherit. Part of this consideration will depend upon whether your children are still minors, or whether they are already adults or nearing adulthood. For adult children, you may want to make certain inheritance provisions in your will, or name your adult children as beneficiaries on an account you created prior to getting remarried. If your spouse also has adult children from a previous marriage, they will have to make similar considerations.

For minor children, especially for whom you may still be contributing to a trust or making decisions about guardianship, it will be important to consider your children’s needs and current aspects of your marital household and finances with your new spouse.

Wills, Beneficiary Designations, and Newly Joint Property 

You and your new spouse will need to consider assets you newly own jointly, and assets that you acquired together or that will accrue additional value during your marriage. It will be important to determine how these assets will be distributed in your will, through beneficiary designations, in trusts, or by other means.

It is often necessary to amend a will, which is typically easiest if you work with a lawyer to make a new will. You can also consider a codicil to your existing will to amend it, but with significant changes as a result of a second marriage, it may make the most sense for both you and your spouse to draft new wills.

Revisiting Your Proxy Directives 

In a second marriage and with a new legal partner, you will also want to revisit your proxy directives (also known as a durable power of attorney for health care). For most spouses, it is important that the other spouse be named as the agent or representative to make important health care decisions in the event that the spouse creating the proxy directive becomes incapacitated and cannot make those decisions on their own.

Contact a Summit Estate Planning Attorney 

Estate planning is important regardless of your age, marital status, income, health, and other factors. It is especially important to consider estate planning tools, or to revisit your estate plan, after you have gotten remarried. You will want to work with an estate planning lawyer in Summit to ensure that your children from your previous marriage will be taken care of, that your new spouse will have what they need, and that your advance directives and beneficiary designations properly account for your second marriage. If you have any questions or concerns, seek legal help as soon as you can. One of the experienced New Jersey estate planning lawyers at Dempsey, Dempsey & Sheehan can talk with you today about estate planning and remarriage. Contact us for assistance.

Sources:

law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-3b/

nj.gov/health/advancedirective/documents/proxy_directive.pdf