No one marries with the intention of getting divorced, but about half of all marriages in the U.S. will end in divorce. Divorce and second marriages can complicate the process of estate planning and present a number of challenges.
Your obligations to your family or loved ones do not stop, even if you have already passed on. If your family, especially your children, are still heavily dependent on you, you can still provide for them through proper estate planning, even if you are no longer present.
It’s a well-documented fact that most people do no estate planning. Of those who do, the majority use a last will to pass their estate to a spouse or divide it among their children.
Trusts fall into one of two main categories. The first category is composed of those that are established while the grantor (one who establishes the trust) is alive and are termed inter vivos (while living) trusts.
Here are a few things to avoid on your way to an appointment with a qualified estate planning attorney to discuss your own estate plan, and a couple of others to keep in mind once you get there.
If you have any reservations about who you have in mind when writing your will, whether you're thinking about a young child or even an older person who could be vulnerable to scams, a trust could make a lot of sense.