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. 

Children bring a lot of joy to a parent’s life, but also come with a great amount of responsibility and stress. Prior to children, my hardest decision was whether or not to cook dinner or eat out with friends. That decision is a cake walk compared to the decisions I now make as a parent: daycare or nanny, bottles or sippy cups, feeding choices, public school or private school, sleeping habits, immunizations, etc.

March is here, and even with Winter Storm Titan presently passing overhead, March still makes me think of spring and gets me in the mood for spring cleaning. As I was packing up clothes our little one has grown out of and separating stuff to donate, I began to reflect on the past week at work and how most of my meetings involved people who's personal/financial worlds could use some spring cleaning of their own.

“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!