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Many people view estate planning in a shortsighted manner. They know that they have to state their wishes about actions that will be taken after they are gone, but they don’t consider end-of-life eventualities.Advance health care directives are used to address medical decision-making in the event of your incapacity. A Living Will is utilized to state your choices regarding life-support procedures, and there is no reason to think that remarriage will alter your preferences.However, a durable power of attorney for health care is another advance directive that is used to empower an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf. These would be choices that have nothing to do with life-support.If you have an existing durable power of attorney prior to remarriage, you should revisit the document to see whether you want to change the representative designation.
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The answer is yes, but the problem is easily rectified. Your children would have to wait until your surviving spouse dies to receive their inheritances. Aside from the lack of any financial boost, the vulture-like nature of the arrangement is a bit disconcerting.To account for this, you could arrange for your children to receive a portion of their respective inheritances immediately after your passing.
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A qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust is the ideal solution under these circumstances. To implement this estate planning strategy, you fund the trust and you name a trustee to act as the administrator.Any adult who is willing to assume the role can technically act as a trustee, but you may not know anyone who is qualified, and longevity would naturally be a concern. Professional fiduciaries can provide trustee services, and this is another option.These trusts contain income producing assets, so the trustee should be an effective financial manager. Complete neutrality is another key factor.Your spouse would be the first beneficiary of the QTIP trust, and your children would be the final beneficiaries. If you die first, your surviving spouse will receive distributions of the trust’s earnings for the rest of his or her life.You could give the trustee the latitude to make discretionary distributions from principal, and the first beneficiary would be able to use property that is owned by the trust. For example, they could live in a home that has been signed over to the trust.The surviving spouse would be secure, but they would not be able to change the terms of the trust in any way. After his or her death, your children will inherit the assets in the trust.
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In all honesty, this is a touchy subject, and we are not relationship counselors. This being stated, to answer the question, we have to get into a potentially sensitive area.The first step should be a conversation with your spouse-to-be about your respective estate planning objectives. This is especially important when children are involved.You really can’t take any concrete steps as a couple until you are both on the same page. If you avoid the subject entirely, you can rest assured that it will come up in the future.
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