Lombard Estate Planning Attorneys for Second Marriages

Lawyers Assisting Divorcees With Wills, Trusts, and Powers of Attorney in DuPage County

The estate planning process can be complex for any family, and a variety of factors will need to be considered when addressing how financial matters, property ownership, and other issues will be handled during your life and after your death. However, these issues can become even more complicated if you have gotten remarried after getting divorced. As you put plans in place to protect yourself, your spouse, your children, or other family members, you will want to work with an experienced estate planning lawyer.

The attorneys of A. Traub & Associates understand the legal issues that can affect blended families and spouses who get remarried. We will work with you to explore your estate planning options, and we will help you make the right decisions to ensure that your wishes are carried out correctly.

Estate Planning Issues to Consider in a Second Marriage

The process of creating an estate plan is often fairly straightforward in a first marriage. In these cases, you and your spouse may have decided to leave property to each other upon the death of either spouse, while setting aside certain assets for your children. These plans will likely become more complicated if you have been divorced and decided to get remarried. Following your second marriage, you may need to address inheritances for your new spouse, children from your first marriage, children from your second marriage, step-children, or other family members or loved ones.

Updating your will to specify which assets should go to your spouse, your children, or other family members can help ensure that your wishes will be carried out correctly. However, you may also need to address beneficiary designations on other types of assets, such as life insurance policies or retirement plans, since these will be passed to the named beneficiaries, regardless of what is stated in your will. You may also want to determine how to handle assets you own together with your new spouse, such as your family home, and ensure that all family members will receive the proper inheritances.

In many cases, a trust can be used to protect your assets and provide instructions for how they should be passed to your beneficiaries. This can not only make sure you have considered all of your loved ones, but you can also specify when your heirs will receive their inheritance and how the assets may be used. You can also name a trust as the beneficiary for retirement accounts or life insurance policies, giving you more control over who will receive these assets and how they will be distributed.

One other area of concern that you may want to address in your estate plan involves decisions about healthcare and finances as you get closer to the end of your life. Following a second marriage, you may want to create new powers of attorney for property and healthcare. By doing so, you can name your spouse as the person who is authorized to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated, and you can discuss your wishes for how personal or financial matters should be handled in these cases. You should also review your living will or other advance medical directives with your spouse to make sure they understand what types of treatment you want to receive if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Contact Our Downers Grove Estate Planning Lawyers

Following a second marriage, you will need to take a wide variety of issues into consideration when planning for what you want to happen in the future, including during your life and after your death. Our attorneys can provide the legal help you need when creating an estate plan, and we will address your concerns and work with you to make sure your family will be provided for. To arrange a consultation, contact us today by calling 630-426-0196. We serve clients in Arlington Heights, Lombard, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Oak Brook, Glendale Heights, Downers Grove, and throughout DuPage, Kane, Will, and Cook Counties.