Estate Planning For Blended Families In Canada

By judy martel when it comes to estate planning for a blended family the concept of yours mine and ours can complicate the process to the point that family dynamics become permanently strained.

Estate planning for blended families in canada.

Both her and her new spouse were widowed and had adult children. It is estimated that more than half of u s. At least that s been the case since the 2011 canadian census was released which found that 12 6 of all families in the country are blended. The failure to engage in such planning increases the likelihood that someone will.

With guidance from experienced counsel the various goals of each family can be met by crafting and implementing estate. It presents a particular challenge for wills where everything could pass to a spouse who subsequently disinherits children. Successful blended family estate planning is a matter of setting and communicating goals learning the available legal strategies implement ing the chosen documents and setting appropriate expec tations for the client. A real example of a blended family.

The modern family is more complicated and may consist of parents who are in second or third relationships. One in 10 children live in stepfamilies according to the most recent canadian census held in 2011 the first time the census has counted stepfamilies. Apart from the day to day challenges blended families like the fictional brady s face additional hurdles when addressing their estate planning. Blended families are the new normal.

Blended families are families where one or both spouses or common law partners have been in a previous relationship and have children from that relationship. A blended family cries out for pro active estate planning. Common pitfalls in estate planning for blended families 1 the traditional concept of the nuclear family i e mother father and one or more children of a single relationship has evolved over the years. The number of blended families is growing steadily in canada.

We explain the details in this article. A relative of mine remarried in her 50s. Blended families are those where the partners are not the biological parents of all of the children. In most blended family situations each partner wants to ensure that when they die their children as well as their new love will be treated fairly and will receive as.

This is resolved using lifetime interest trusts.