Page 37 - Flathead Beacon // 10.26.16

FINANCIAL CORNER JESSE RIGLER T
op Tracks
ESTATE PLANNING TIPS FOR MBLENDED FAMILIES
OST OF US NEED TO DO SOME the remainder of the trust.
type of estate planning, but it’s So far, so good. However, issues can especially important if you are arise if you name your surviving spouse
part of a “blended” family. And the best time to start is now – before these plans need to be implemented.
Estate planning can be complex, so you will need help from a quali ed legal professional. But here are a few gen- eral suggestions that can be suitable for blended families:
Update bene ciary designations – and think about multiple bene ciaries. Update the bene ciary designations on your retirement accounts and insur- ance policies to re ect the reality of your blended family. These designations can supersede the instructions you provided in your will. So if your will states that your current spouse should inherit your assets, but you had named your former spouse, or a child, as the primary bene - ciary of an IRA, then your former spouse or your child – not your present-day spouse – will indeed receive the IRA.
To ensure that “everyone gets some- thing,” you could name your current spouse as primary bene ciary and your children from a previous marriage as equal contingent bene ciaries. But the primary bene ciary will receive all the assets and is free to do whatever he or she wants with the money. To enact your wishes, you can name multiple primary bene ciaries and designate the percentage of the asset each bene ciary will receive.
Create a living trust – and consider a professional trustee. A living trust can help you avoid the time-consuming and costly process of probate, while giving you great freedom to determine how, and when, you want your assets distributed. After you pass away, the trust, if struc- tured properly, can provide your sur- viving spouse with income for life; then, after your spouse dies, your children from an earlier marriage would receive
or one of your children as the “successor trustee” who will take charge of the trust upon your passing. Your spouse, acting as successor trustee, could choose to invest only in bonds for income, but if he or she lives another 20 or so years, the value of the investments within the trust will probably have diminished considerably – leaving your children with very little. Conversely, if you name one of your chil- dren as trustee, the child could invest strictly in growth-oriented investments, leaving your surviving spouse with greatly reduced income. To be fair to everyone, you may want to engage a pro- fessional third-party trustee. This indi- vidual, or company, is not a bene ciary of the trust, is not entitled to share in the assets of the trust, and, ideally, should have no “rooting interest” in how pro- ceeds of the trust are distributed.
Consider a prenuptial agreement
– When it’s time to settle an estate, a prenuptial agreement can help avoid disputes among members of a blended family. If you and your new spouse have agreed to keep your assets separate so that each of you can pass an inheritance to your own children, you need to spell out that separation in your “prenup,” your will, your living trust and any other relevant estate-planning arrangements.
Above all else, share your estate-plan- ning intentions with members of your blended family. You may not be able to satisfy everyone, but through open com- munications, you can help prevent bad feelings – and unpleasant surprises.
Edward Jones, its employees and nancial advisors are not estate planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your estate-planning or quali ed tax advisor regarding your situation.
explore your new music cravings!
Jesse Rigler is a nancial advisor at Edward Jones in Kalispell.
ARTIST SONG
1 Head And The Heart
2 Shawn Mendes
3 Twenty One Pilots
4 Coldplay
5 Justin Timberlake
6 X Ambassadors
7 Sia
8 Chainsmokers Feat. Halsey
9 Joseph
10 Adele
11 Wrabel
12 Bastille
13 Blink-182
14 Kings Of Leon
15 Calvin Harris Feat. Rihanna
16 Gavin DeGraw
17 Major Lazer Feat. Justin Bieber & M0
18 Cage T he Elephant
19 Lady Gaga
20 Twenty One Pilots
21 Red Hot Chili Peppers
22 Revivalists
23 Kaleo
24 Lumineers
25 Jimmy Eat World
26 Andy Grammer
27 Saint Motel
28 The Weeknd Feat. Daft Punk
All We Ever Knew Treat You Better
Ride
Hymn For The Weekend Can’t Stop The Feeling! Unsteady
Cheap Thrills
Closer
White Flag
Send My Love (To Your New Lover) 11 Blocks
Good Grief
Bored To Death
Waste A Moment
This Is What You Came For She Sets The City On Fire Cold Water
Trouble
Perfect Illusion
Heathens
Go Robot
Wish I Knew You
Way Down We Go Cleopatra
Sure And Certain
Fresh Eyes
Move
Starboy
Helping you
1 20 Grand
2 Flip Wilsons
3 Left Ready
4 David Boone & Dawns
5 God Fearing Women
Funk Fillibuster All Wrong
Long Way To Fall Taillights
She Ain’t So Reggae
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