I was honored to speak recently to the Midland-Odessa Business and Estate Council. I selected a subject that has become a significant part of our estate planning practice—second marriage estate planning.
Why is this such a hot topic? Consider these statistics:
- 50% of today’s marriages are second (or third or fourth) marriages for at least one of the spouses.
- 75% of people who divorce marry again.
- 65% of remarriages involve children from a prior marriage.
Estate planning for the traditional “nuclear” family is less and less the norm. We are living in a world of the “blended family” (or, “modern family” as popularized on TV). More than half of Americans are part of a blended family.
Multiple marriages bring issues that the estate plan needs to address:
- Onboarding a new spouse (perhaps with kids of his/her own) into a family unit
- Relationships between children and a stepmother or stepfather
- Relationships between stepsiblings
- Age disparity between spouses
- Wealth disparity between spouses
Such issues create a potentially hot family dynamic. The Blum Firm is committed to helping blended families create thoughtful estate plans, reducing the risk of later friction. We are also committed to helping families navigate these new relationships and foster a family’s human capital.
Here’s another sobering statistic: 60% of remarriages end in divorce. Accordingly, the responsible couple will do prenuptial planning to address the “what if” before saying “I do.”
In my speech, I identified 18 fact situations that could give rise to heartache if not properly addressed in the estate plan. A copy of my presentation on Second Marriage Estate Planning is available here. The Blum Firm is honored to share planning tips to help preserve family harmony in cases of “I Do, Round Two.”
Marvin E. Blum
Marvin Blum speaking to Midland-Odessa Business and Estate Council on “I Do, Round Two: Second Marriage Estate Planning.”