Getting remarried is a joyous event. While one may have thought they would only get married once, uniting with another through marriage is a major life event. Although some of the same concerns with one’s first marriage occurs during a subsequent marriage, there are some considerations one should make with regards to their finances and estate plan prior to remarrying
Remarriage and estate plans
When one remarries, he or she wants to look forward. Looking forward to their wedding, being a married couple, growing old together and all the events they will share. Nonetheless, one must also look backwards when remarrying. One must consider their past before typing the knot.
To begin, one should ensure the proper changes have been made to their estate plan follow their divorce or end of their past marriage. These means removing the prior spouse’s name as the beneficiary or heir to any property or asset. Next, if any children are involved from a prior relationship, one’s estate plan should protect the interests of these children.
Protecting assets
Although the saying goes, what’s mine is yours, this is not always the case when marrying. Much like a premarital agreement can protect assets and property, an estate plan could help protect certain assets. By placing these assets in a trust, this could help segregate them and protect them in the event of a divorce.
Life events trigger one to draft, modify or update their estate plan. Whether it is a marriage, divorce, remarriage, birth of a child or getting an inheritance, these are important times to visit or revisit an estate plan. These decisions can get complex and confusing, making it imperative that one gains insight of the options they might have. This can help ensure one understands their situation and has their best interests in mind.
