[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/modern-families-create-new-questions-greenwich-ct-white-plains-ny\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/modern-families-create-new-questions-greenwich-ct-white-plains-ny\/","headline":"Modern Families Create New Questions","name":"Modern Families Create New Questions","description":"With the traditional family on a downward trend, the modern family is raising some new questions for estate planning. The rising numbers of modern and blended families have created some challenges for estate planning, according to Forbes in “How Long Will Stepmom Live? And Other Vexing Estate Planning Questions for Modern Families“. An example is […]","datePublished":"2019-02-26","dateModified":"2024-04-04","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/#Person","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso, LLP","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/","identifier":5,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso, LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","width":0,"height":0}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/6a01901dd0a082970b022ad3c4b2b1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/6a01901dd0a082970b022ad3c4b2b1.jpg","height":1067,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/modern-families-create-new-questions-greenwich-ct-white-plains-ny\/","about":["Beneficiary","Blended Family","Estate Planning","Inheritance","Trusts","Will"],"wordCount":651,"keywords":["Beneficiary","Blended Family","Estate Planning","Inheritances","Trusts","Will"],"articleBody":"With the traditional family on a downward trend, the modern family is raising some new questions for estate planning.The rising numbers of modern and blended families have created some challenges for estate planning, according to Forbes in “How Long Will Stepmom Live? And Other Vexing Estate Planning Questions for Modern Families“.An example is a stepmother who called for a meeting with the estate planning attorney. At age 57, she is married to a 72-year old man with three kids from his first marriage and two kids from their marriage. She wanted to make sure that his wealth didn\u2019t become a source of agitation for the family when he passed.The stepmother did not want to be seen as rapacious or coming between the kids and their inheritance.The solution was as follows: money for the stepmother was left to a marital trust with provisions for her benefit while the children received accelerated inheritances through a series of Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), a qualified personal residence trust for a vacation compound and annual exclusion gifts.Here\u2019s another example: a male descendent of a wealthy family acknowledged that he had fathered a child without being married to the child\u2019s mother. He had to seek legal determination to ensure that the child would be cared for after his death.Welcome to today\u2019s new family. They include three-parent families, artificial reproductive heirs and blended families. These are all hot issues in the world of estate planning and attorneys are now addressing these new dynamics.There are five basic questions that must be addressed when creating an estate plan today:Who? Who gets your money and your stuff?How much? How will it be divided among heirs?When? Will it be at a specific age, or just when you die?Outright versus in trust? With a trust, you name a person, a trustee, who will control your assets.Who represents you? An agent and a fiduciary with a power of attorney who acts on your behalf, if you become incapacitated, an executor who is in charge of administering your estate and a trustee who manages any trusts created.Modern families don\u2019t want old-school estate planning solutions. They want to know that their estate plan will work for their situation, which may not match the old \u201cMom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Brother\u201d construct. So, how should you handle the distribution of wealth for non-traditional families? If your child dies and a live-in partner is rearing their children, should there be money for the children in a trust? What about taking care of the surviving partner, even if they were not married?What about late-in-life marriages? If there\u2019s a huge gap in years between grandparents and grandchildren, how will family wealth be passed down? Funding 529 trusts is one answer, and trusts are another. If the age gap is so big that grandparents never meet their grandchildren, a statement of intent in documents can be used to convey the goals and wishes the grandparents have for their future grandchildren.Providing for all children equally isn\u2019t always the goal of the modern family. Some might think their ex-spouse will provide for children and leave them fewer assets than they would have if that were not a factor. However, don\u2019t assume that, even if you can\u2019t have that conversation with your ex. If your intention is to distribute assets in unequal portions, you may save your loved ones a lot of pain and fighting by either talking with them about it while you are still living or leaving a letter behind explaining your decision-making process.An Estate Planning attorney can help you plan for your family\u2019s particular circumstances, including deciding how and when to distribute assets to minimize conflict after you are gone.Reference: Forbes (Jan. 29, 2019) “How Long Will Stepmom Live? And Other Vexing Estate Planning Questions for Modern Families“"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Modern Families Create New Questions","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/modern-families-create-new-questions-greenwich-ct-white-plains-ny\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]