When it comes to estate planning for blended families, things can get complicated. Real estate attorney Taylor Willingham is here to discuss the issue today.
Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report
Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale
Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale
I’m joined today by Taylor Willingham, a real estate attorney, to discuss a very interesting topic: blended families. What happens to someone’s property when they pass away if they’re in a blended family?
In the context of probate and estate planning, blended families are a difficult area to address. The state doesn’t really know what to do for people who have children from outside their relationship—for example, a family with children that are biologically related to only one of the two parents (as in the case of a remarried mother or father).
Taylor once had a client who's husband passed away with no will or trust. She had a child together with her partner, so I did an application to determine who would be the heirs. Then the court hired an attorney to investigate if the husband only had the one child.
Lo and behold, they discovered that the husband had had a child when he was 16 years old. He never knew the child nor was he involved in their life.
So when the client came back to me, Taylor had to tell her that state law left none of his property to her as the wife; it left all the property to the two children equally. Suffice it to say, this came as a shock to her. Indeed, this complicated situation comes as a shock to a great many blended families.
His client would retain her 50% of the property, and her husband’s property would be divided between his kids.
Now, if the husband had had separate property, she would have gotten one-third of that, and the other two-thirds would go to his children.
These issues arise because the Texas state legislature doesn’t know what to do with blended families. They opted to just leave the old law on the books, distribute the property to the children, and allow it to be resolved from there. If you don’t like that method, you can create a will or trust.
When dealing with blended family estate planning, Taylor always takes the time to consider both parties in order to make sure that both spouses and children are taken care of.
This is an incredibly complex issue, so if you have any questions, schedule a consultation with Taylor by phone at (214) 250-4407 or visit www.willprobateattorneys.com.
For other questions about real estate in North Texas, you can always reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.
In the context of probate and estate planning, blended families are a difficult area to address. The state doesn’t really know what to do for people who have children from outside their relationship—for example, a family with children that are biologically related to only one of the two parents (as in the case of a remarried mother or father).
Taylor once had a client who's husband passed away with no will or trust. She had a child together with her partner, so I did an application to determine who would be the heirs. Then the court hired an attorney to investigate if the husband only had the one child.
Lo and behold, they discovered that the husband had had a child when he was 16 years old. He never knew the child nor was he involved in their life.
So when the client came back to me, Taylor had to tell her that state law left none of his property to her as the wife; it left all the property to the two children equally. Suffice it to say, this came as a shock to her. Indeed, this complicated situation comes as a shock to a great many blended families.
His client would retain her 50% of the property, and her husband’s property would be divided between his kids.
The Texas state legislature doesn’t know what to do with blended families.
”
These issues arise because the Texas state legislature doesn’t know what to do with blended families. They opted to just leave the old law on the books, distribute the property to the children, and allow it to be resolved from there. If you don’t like that method, you can create a will or trust.
When dealing with blended family estate planning, Taylor always takes the time to consider both parties in order to make sure that both spouses and children are taken care of.
This is an incredibly complex issue, so if you have any questions, schedule a consultation with Taylor by phone at (214) 250-4407 or visit www.willprobateattorneys.com.
For other questions about real estate in North Texas, you can always reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.
