Once you have been able to accumulate a significant store of financial resources you must be very diligent about preserving your wealth. If you engage the services of a good financial planning attorney you always have the support that you need when you have questions.
Your attorney will gain an understanding of your situation and give you ongoing advice as you take steps to protect and build on the financial foundation that you have been able to put in place.
With the above in mind life events can call for changes to your existing estate plan. One of these events would be remarriage.
While you may be very much in love when you are getting married you would do well to retain a bit of pragmatism. The statisticians tell us that a significant majority of people who are entering into their second or third marriages wind up divorced someday.
Allowing your financial resources to be merged into community property upon remarriage may be a decision that you regret later on. And, your children may suffer from the decision even if you never do get divorced.
There are things that can be done to provide for your spouse as well as your children. For example, you could enter into a prenuptial agreement and subsequently create a qualified terminable interest property trust.
Upon your passing your surviving spouse would receive lifetime income from the trust. However, you name secondary beneficiaries when you create the trust. If you name your children as beneficiaries they would assume ownership of the remainder after the death of your spouse.
The best way to proceed before remarrying is to sit down and discuss all of your options with your attorney. He or she will answer all of your questions and assist you as you devise a plan that is tailor-made to suit your needs.
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