Estate Planning for Blended Families: Minimizing Taxes and Estate Issues of Second Marriages

This webinar will review critical trust and estate considerations for blended families. Our panel of knowledgeable inheritance tax professionals will discuss how trusts are used to satisfy certain property transfers, the availability of a DSUE (deceased spousal unused exclusion) after a new marriage, key documents that should be reviewed and updated, and other pertinent issues that need to be addressed for previously married couples.

Exes and stepchildren are increasingly components of estate plans. Although some planning aspects are the same, there are additional concerns for these families. These may include whether one spouse might disinherit the other's children, children wanting assets before the death of the new or either parent, the need to update estate documents and beneficiaries, and the tax treatment of a former spouse's DSUE.

Couples with prior marriages have varying intentions for asset transfers. Some prefer that each partner leave their respective assets to their children. Other couples want to provide support for the surviving spouse before a transfer, and still others may want an equitable distribution based on current joint assets. The path to resolve these issues can include the use of trusts, new wills, and designated beneficiaries. Tax professionals working with previously married clients need to grasp the tax consequences and additional considerations of family combinations.

Listen as our panel of trust and estate planning experts analyzes specific elements of transfer taxes for couples who were married previously.