It may not have occurred to you that those in a blended family should consider a trust? How can Allen Barron help to protect your interests as you start a new family or consider estate planning as part of a blended family?
Blended families have become much more common here in California and across the United States. Blended family situations often require careful estate planning to ensure that assets and heirlooms are preserved for those you wish to protect as beneficiaries.
For example, one of the reason those in a blended family should consider a trust is to protect children from a prior marriage. You may have children from a previous marriage in addition to the child or children you have with your current spouse. Your spouse may also have children from a previous marriage. How will your assets be managed during your lifetime and preserved for those you love and care about?
Is it possible to ensure that a specific percentage of your wealth is set aside for each of your children as you see fit? Yes, but different trusts provide different levels of flexibility for the surviving spouse, and different levels of protection for the beneficiaries you want to protect.
Those in a blended family should consider a trust to balance all that has happened in the past with what you are building in the present and hope for the future. The experienced trust, estate planning and tax attorneys at Allen Barron have personal experience with blended families and are able to review your unique circumstances and ensure that your personal wishes are protected.
Real estate values alone here in San Diego and Southern California make it financially prudent to implement a trust to simply avoid the expense and time delays of probate. Many couples already have trusts, and wonder why they should be reviewed?
Recent changes in federal tax laws, trust law and economic realities require you to plan carefully, and review those plans every 2 to 3 years. Those in a blended family should consider a trust to avoid the time and expense of probate, provide for all beneficiaries while reducing tax exposure and preserving assets.
We invite you to contact Allen Barron or call today to schedule a free and substantive consultation at 866-631-3470. We will discuss your unique circumstances, assets, and wishes. We help spouses in blended families to tailor trust planning to the needs of their family, and the best interests of each child or beneficiary.
