Question 13: Protection for a blended family?

Question 13: Protection for a blended family?

• In our blended family, how can I make sure that my children aren’t deprived of an inheritance by my spouse if I die first?  A Living Trust can provide the assurance that you need.  Typically a Living Trust will allow you and your spouse to modify the terms of the Trust as long as you both are living.  You also have the freedom to take property out and put new property into the Trust.  But when either of you passes away, the Trust will usually provide that the Trust become set in stone.  The surviving spouse will continue to live off the trust assets to take care of his or her living expenses.  But the survivor can no longer modify the terms to write out the children of the deceased spouse or alter the percentages that the two of you agreed would be paid when both of you have passed away.  This provides the desired assurance that the property acquired by the two of you will ultimately pass to the heirs upon which you have agreed.  It prevents the survivor’s children (or even his or her new spouse) from redirecting the inheritance elsewhere.