Estate Planning for Second Marriages and Blended Families

Preparing your estate can be complicated, and if you're on a second marriage or are part of a blended family, estate decisions can be even more complex and nuanced.  When second marriages or kids from prior marriages are involved, there are often special considerations to take into account. Often times, each spouse is bringing previously owned assets into the marriage and they may have differing views on who should inherit those assets when they pass. Here are some ideas to think about to help make sure the distribution of assets takes place how you intend: 

• Simple wills are often structured to leave all assets to the surviving spouse. If your estate strategy relies on this type of will, you could risk overlooking children from previous marriages. 

You may want to ensure that your children from your first marriage are set up to receive assets from your estate, even as you provide your second spouse with adequate resources to live on should you die first. 

• Do you have comingled assets or joint accounts with your second spouse? If you do, those assets will be inherited completely by your spouse. However, if you have assets kept separately, you may be able to leave those directly to your children of a prior marriage. 
• How are your assets titled? Assets that are jointly owned in your name and your second spouse’s name are set up to pass to your spouse, often regardless of any instructions in your will. 

Consider a home owned prior to your second marriage. If your new spouse is added to the title, the home will be passed directly to the spouse and not to your children. 

• Alternatively, if the home is passed to your children, they could potentially evict your spouse after your death leaving him/her no place to live.
• Do you have important family heirlooms and memorabilia? If something holds sentimental value to you and your kids but not to your spouse, make sure you are specifying how those items are distributed so they go to who values them. 
• If you are designating your second spouse as the beneficiary on your retirement accounts, remember that once you die, the surviving spouse can name any beneficiary of their choice, despite any promises to name your children from a previous marriage as successor beneficiaries. 
• If your new spouse is closer in age to your children than to you, your children may worry that they may never receive an inheritance. Consider passing them assets directly, upon your death. 
• Look for approaches to help protect against the drain that extended care may have on assets designed to support your spouse or pass to your children. 
• Who do you want to have medical power of attorney? In a second marriage, do you want your adult children or your spouse to have the final say? Make sure they know your intentions and the proper documents are completed. 
•  While the divorce rate has been trending lower, the number of remarriages (2nd or more marriages) has increased. One person entering into a new marriage may have more assets than their spouse, given that 40% of all new marriages are remarriages for one or both spouses.1

Consider a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement to protect your re-owned assets in the unfortunate circumstance of divorce. 

• What if your spouse gets remarried after your death? You may want to put protections in place to keep their inherited assets from being comingled with their new spouse’s assets. 
•  In blended families, a trust can help provide clarity in how your assets are inherited and even enforce the terms of an estate plan for years into the future. This may prevent unhappy situations such as a spouse throwing out items that belonged to the deceased’s children, children evicting the spouse from an inherited home, the spouse leaving all her inherited assets to her family and disinheriting the deceased’s children, and protecting inherited assets from future spouses. 



Second marriages and blended families can bring immense joy to your life. However, it is important to be aware of these complications when it comes to estate planning. Having a clear plan for where you want your assets to go, and finding a professional to help you accomplish that provides an opportunity for a better outcome. Each state may have their own variations on estate and marriage laws. Make sure you are working with a qualified estate attorney in your state to put together your plan. 

1. Forbes.com, August 8, 2023 LPL Financial representatives offer access to Trust Services through The Private Trust Company N.A. an affiliate of LPL Financial. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal or investment advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor. If you are seeking investment advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material. Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Global Retirement Partners, LLC dba AssuredPartners Financial Advisors, an SEC registered investment advisor. AssuredPartners Financial Advisors and LPL Financial are separate non-affiliated entities.