Second (or third or fourth) marriages often require careful balancing between the needs of the surviving spouse and the needs of the children from a previous marriage.
Do you expect your parents to leave you a financial legacy? Nearly half of working-age Americans assume that they will receive an inheritance that will support them later in life, according to a survey by financial services company HSBC. Perhaps the bigger question, though, is how to even approach this topic with your parents.
Most people wish to have more control over who and how their assets are managed than what the state laws provide, and so they draft documents that can override the Laws of Intestacy, when those laws do not match their objectives.
Estate planning is all about ensuring that your wishes are met after your death. All estate plans should include a will and powers of attorney. However, in many cases, a trust has additional benefits beyond what can be accomplished with the will and powers of attorney.
Unfortunately, due to hidden resentments, siblings still tend to end up in court suing each other and losing great chunks of their inheritance in the process all too frequently.
