Issue 1: Inheritance Dilution
Once you get remarried your new spouse will automatically become entitled to some of your property if you should die. This means there’ll be less property for you to pass on to your children, grandchildren or others. Additionally, your new spouse may choose not to leave any of his or her own property to your children or other family members.
Issue 2: Robbed Inheritances
It’s also possible that people in a second marriage could, inadvertently, cause their children or grandchildren not to receive any type of inheritance at all. For example, if you are in a second marriage and die before your spouse without creating an estate plan, your spouse could end up inheriting your entire estate. In that situation the spouse could subsequently choose to create an estate plan that doesn’t leave anything to your children or to those you wanted to pass an inheritance to before you died.
Issue 3: Communication
Estate planning is one of those legal issues that some people find incredibly difficult to talk about. While this reluctance is understandable because estate planning brings up some particularly difficult issues, your reluctance to have a discussion about the topic with your new spouse could be detrimental to you and your family. It’s very important for people in second marriages to talk to their spouses about inheritances and other estate planning issues as soon as possible. Both of you have a number of choices to make, and making the decision together can not only be helpful, but can also strengthen your relationship.
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