When people talk about the high divorce rate, one thing you must keep in mind is that many of these divorce cases simply come before a second marriage. Those involved may stay single for just a few years before marrying again. They did think that initial marriage was a mistake, but that does not mean they did not want to be married at all.
People who get married for a second time need to consider their estate planning carefully. It’s definitely time to update the will and change any beneficiary designations. Your life has changed significantly, and your plan needs to reflect that.
One reason for the importance of planning is that you want to make sure you leave the proper assets to children from your first marriage. If you pass away, they could end up in a dispute with your new spouse. This can get contentious. They may feel like they’re not really related to each other and the children won’t want to give assets that they thought of as their own to your new spouse. On the other hand, your spouse may feel they have a right to everything since you were married. The right plan can provide guidance.
Another reason to plan carefully is that you probably have more assets at this point in your life. You may have had relatively little during your first marriage, but now you having retirement savings, business assets, investments and much more. This makes your estate more complex, and you need to make sure you address that.
With complicated family situations like this, be sure you are well aware of your legal rights and learn more about how to accomplish your estate goals.