Do you need to update your estate plan after remarrying?

On Behalf of | Jan 4, 2022 | Trusts

With the increased lifespan of many Americans, people also choose to divorce later in life and continue on to remarry well into the golden years. Because of these later-year remarriages, it is important to factor some unique things into your new relationship, such as estate planning.

If you do not factor in changes that you need to make to your current estate plan, your loved ones may suffer from unintended consequences.

Updating your documents

Barron’s discusses the ties between remarriage and estate planning. If you do not look over and edit your estate plan, you risk leaving in old and outdated information and not addressing new and changed situations.

First, you need to update all key documents. This includes your will and trusts, along with life insurance policies, investment funds and more. These payout to a beneficiary, and you want to ensure that your current spouse holds that position rather than an ex-spouse.

Protecting your new spouse and all children

You also want to provide protection to your spouse and any children. If you die before changing these documents, it could result in the accidental disinheriting of your spouse. You might force them to leave your shared home. You also want to keep children from previous marriages in mind and ensure that your current spouse does not hold all of the power and cannot cut your kids out.

You can either create a revocable trust that covers the interest of both parties, or you can rewrite your will in a way that includes both parties and divides up your assets as you see fit.