When a Parent Dies - Q's on Wills/ Trusts
I'm asking this question for two reasons:
1) My father just passed away. I am his first child. At his time of death, he was married to his 4th wife for 25 years and has 2 children with her, along with a child by wife #3.
2) I have three children of my own with my ex. I have a SS and a baby on the way with DH.
So my question...
as a parent, you want to take care of your own children should you pass away. You also want to ensure your spouse is taken care of. You also may have concerns of the step child having an increased inheritance should you pass prior to your spouse.
(well, that wasn't really the question now, was it?)
What is the best way to create a will/ trust to ensure that everyone is taken care of, assets are protected for your own offspring and that things are "fair"?
DH and I have the following.
DH and I have the following. He gets everything if I go first, I get everything if he goes first. He has 3 grown kids and we have a D13 so some is different for us. Our estate is to be divided in half. One full half transfers to our BD. The other half is equally distributed among all 4 kids (including BD) Our thoughts are that the SKIDS have a mother to contribute an inheritance and our BD does not. -it is not my fault BM is a pos and will not have anything but debt for them- If BD was not ours and just mine, she would inherit half and not the additional 1/4th. Of course either one of us could make changes after the other one is gone but we trust each other not too.
I have a step sister that I met one time, maybe twice as a little kid. She was PASed big time. As far as I know and have seen my parents have specifically named her as to not receive any items or money. Of course my SF could change this but chances are slim since she stopped talking to him after he refused to buy her a new car at the age of 19. She is in her 40's now. I am more than sure she will sniff around if and when something happens to my SF.
I say write down what you think is fair, have DH do the same and then make a decision together after reviewing each others thoughts. That is how we came up with our system and it kept the bickering to a minimum. Plus I didn't feel overwhelmed or forget to bring up a point.
I like the idea of having DH
I like the idea of having DH and I write down what we both think is fair. It's been on my mind a lot lately with the pending birth of the new baby and all of the issues that BM is creating with SS (who we have primary custody of).
All of our kids are under age 13 and I want my children to be taken care of - especially if something happens to me prior to their completing college. Right now I just have a life insurance policy that leaves half to my kids (via ExH) and half to DH. My ex has since remarried so I know that I need to speak with him and make some changes on my end.
I also have some assets that I'd like to see go to my children as well - and NOT to SS.
I just don't want to seem like a greedy B! when I bring it up to DH, but it is on my mind. Also with evil, lazy BM, I DO NOT EVER want her to benefit in any way from my assets. She's been a deadbeat the entire time and I could just see her becoming much more interested in SS13 if she knew he had inherited assets all of a sudden.
I agree and am not expecting
I agree and am not expecting anything from my father's estate. I just recall my parents discussing an A/B Trust at some point, which made me think that was something I should look into for myself and DH.
Any dependents should be
Any dependents should be provided for after death if at all possible.
Other than that a person should be free to do ANYTHING they want with their money. They can leave their money to their spouse, child, or any random animal if that's what they want.
Forget fair. A friend died recently with a fairly large estate. Two of her children are very successful - the third is a meth addict. The two boys (almost 40) do not need her money. The girl would OD if she got that much money. She left it all to the arts which was she loved and had been very active in. that's what SHE wanted.
yup
yup
Yes. I didn't think twice
Yes. I didn't think twice about it when I originally did it as he will be the custodial parent in my absence. However, now that there is a wife in the picture, I want to ensure my kids are protected as best I can.
My husband and I each came
My husband and I each came into the marriage with a child and then had one together (so yours,mine and ours) Our will is set up where he is my sole heir and I am his. If we are both to pass, our estate is to go into a trust. We have trustees designated and they will disperse money to the guardians for the care of our children. If there is anything left to the trust after the youngest turns 25, then any remaining funds will be divided equally among the 3 kids.