A blended family estate plan has to answer to more people than a traditional one, and each of those people holds a different legal position under New York law. For remarried parents in Nyack, New City, Suffern, Pearl River, and across Rockland County, a plan works best when it is built around each family member individually rather than around a standard set of documents.
Your Current Spouse
New York’s Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) gives a surviving spouse a right of election, which allows that spouse to claim the greater of $50,000 or one-third of the net estate regardless of what the will says. The calculation also reaches certain assets that pass outside the will, such as jointly held accounts. The right can be given up only through a signed and acknowledged written waiver, often included in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. That is why I advise Rockland couples entering a second marriage to address the right of election in writing before it can become a dispute.
Your Children From a Prior Marriage
Leaving everything outright to a new spouse means that spouse owns it completely and can later leave it to anyone. Your children’s inheritance then depends on goodwill alone. A trust can give your spouse income or use of the family home for life, with whatever remains guaranteed to your children. That is why I advise naming a co-trustee or an independent trustee, rather than the spouse alone, when a trust is meant to protect children from an earlier marriage.
Your Stepchildren
Under New York’s intestacy rules in EPTL 4-1.1, stepchildren who were never legally adopted inherit nothing if you die without a will, no matter how long you raised them. Even with a will, general wording such as “my children” may not include them. I name every child and stepchild individually in the documents I prepare for Rockland families, so there is no question about who is included.
A Former Spouse
EPTL 5-1.4 generally revokes will provisions and certain beneficiary designations in favor of a former spouse once a divorce is final. Employer retirement plans governed by federal law, however, may still pay whoever is named on the form, including an ex-spouse. That is why I advise reviewing every beneficiary designation after a divorce or remarriage rather than relying on the statute.
Planning With Rockland County in Mind
The wills of Rockland County residents are probated in the Rockland County Surrogate’s Court in New City, and a plan that leaves one family member feeling overlooked can turn into a contested proceeding there. I work with Rockland families to make sure each document fits with the others, and I explain these issues further in my article on customized estate planning for blended families in New York. Any plan should be revisited after a marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, or significant change in assets.
If your loved one left behind an estate involving a blended family which needs to be settled, contact us today for a free phone consultation.
Contributed by Roman Aminov, Esq, a Queens estate attorney in New York City.
Roman Aminov Estate Law firm of Queens
147-17 Union Tpke, Kew Gardens Hills, NY 11367, United States
P59P+93 Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, NY, USA
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