Wealth Planning Blog

As if estate planning didn't already seem complicated enough, blended families now make up a growing portion of our demographic and pose many additional considerations when trying to plan for the transition of their estate. When I started my practice as a wealth planning attorney, I would say about two out of ten families that I met with for estate planning or administration purposes were what we call "blended families" - families where at least one person brought children from a prior marriage. 

So I’m an estate planner …well … what’s that mean? That’s a question I get all the time, whether by a prospective client or a neighbor or somebody sitting next to me at the bar. My answer: I make things easier for families during the worst possible situations. Whether that is a result of a loved one dying, becoming incapacitated, getting divorced… But let’s be honest, isn’t estate planning the easiest thing to put off and not talk about? I mean it’s morbid… sad to think about. 

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that is troublesome” – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction novelist and scholar. Though it may not be exactly what Isaac Asimov meant, I couldn’t help but think about his quote this past week as my family faced the unexpected and WAY too soon passing of one of our own. Transition is hard ... I mean really hard! Grieving may be exhausting … both physically and mentally but it is an essential and extremely important process for any family in this situation to go through.

“There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: “Not today.” - George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones. Wouldn’t it be nice if we got the chance to actually say “not today” so we could spend that day getting all of our ducks in a row that we should have lined up yesterday? Or, maybe you’re someone like me that would then just spend that day doing every possible thing you could on your bucket list and hope your kids don’t get too mad at you for leaving their inheritance in an administrative mess!