Blended Families–Beginning a new family brings many exciting firsts and even a few scary ones. There is even more to consider when the new arrival is blended with a blend of existing children. When children come together from both parents starting a new life together, challenges can emerge that should be addressed.
You may remember recording artist and former American Idol star Kelly Clarkson recently added a new baby to her family. Married for more than three years to Brandon Blackstock, Kelly and Brandon had a little girl together along with Brandon’s two children from a previous relationship. Remy, the couple’s newest little girl, brings the couple’s total children to four.
Here is the risk Kelly and Brandon now face. If Brandon died before Kelly, without specific and clear provisions for Brandon’s children from his prior marriage, a conflict could result between Kelly and her step-children. These may be eliminated with advance planning.
Merging two families face financial issues when no one addresses them. Among these issues are: arguments about prenuptial agreements, varying financial goals, and uneven ideas about how property should be dealt with after death.
Many problems may be ironed out with a well-drafted prenuptial agreement. There are people who think even discussing a prenuptial agreement demonstrates a lack of trust and confidence in the marriage. A prenuptial agreement is protection for both parties and the relationship by addressing hard issues when there is significant love between parties.
When blended families come together, this agreement is even more useful because often both partners have different expectations aobut how assets will be split if the marriage ends. Skilled counselors experienced in handling these can create more closeness in hammering this out.
When you work with a Personal Family Lawyer, you will be able to clarify your goals and get them documented so that there are no fights between the survivor’s children and the survivor of the partnership after the death of the first to die.
Keystone Law Firm offers Family Wealth Planning Sessions,™ where financial management techniques may be explained and strategies, identified. Call us today to schedule yours at (480) 418-8448.
