What Would Be Some Examples Of Blended Or Non-Traditional Family Structures?
The traditional family structure is a husband and a wife, married for 50 years. One spouse passes away, the other spouse never remarries and then passes away, and they want to leave to their children equally. That is the most common thing you see with families that come in for estate planning. Families who fall outside of this traditional setup are typically referred to as blended or non-traditional families. These families present important estate planning considerations. The most common blended family situations are second marriages with adult children from a prior marriage.
The next most common non-traditional families are a male and a female who live together and do not get married. This is referred to as common law marriage, which Florida doesn’t recognize anymore. Lastly, there is domestic partnership or same-sex married couples, who require special estate considerations. For blended or non-traditional families, you need to pay attention to your estate planning and stay on top of it, as the laws do not default to what you may actually want with respect to what happens upon your death or incapacity.
How Common Are Alternative Family Structures In Today’s Society?
In today’s society, alternative families are more commonly out in the open than in prior ages. A lot of these marital-like arrangements were frowned upon from a cultural standpoint and therefore were not addressed legally. Now, our society has evolved to be open to things like no-fault divorce. Instead of solid traditional Christian values, these types of arrangements are out in the open and more commonly occurring. It’s likely that these arrangements occurred in prior times but now it’s more out in the open.
What Are Some Common Estate Planning Challenges That Blended Or Alternative Families Might Be Facing?
Blended or non-traditional families each face their own types of challenges. For the family where the husband or wife are in their second marriage, there is always going to be concern and consideration about what happens when the first spouse passes away or becomes incapacitated. How are that spouse’s financials going to be addressed and handled? For a second marriage situation, the primary focus is what rights the surviving spouse has to the late spouse’s income, insurance, public benefits, and assets versus the rights of the children of that spouse. The children, if their parent passes away first, are looking at losing their inheritance to someone who is not their other parent.
The surviving spouse will always be concerned about how he or she will live without having the second source of income and assets. For a common law marriage situation, where it’s a man and a woman who do not officially get married, the law does not bestow any automatic rights to these significant others. In Florida, common law marriage was abolished in the 1960s, so this couple, even though they are living together, are not legally considered married and they don’t have legal rights. You need to consider inheritance rights and rights of making decisions concerning medical and financial needs upon incapacity.
Lastly, the United States Supreme Court has recognized same-sex marriages. In Florida, it is significant in the trusts and estate realm, to specifically allocate new rules for same-sex couples. It’s just that the law is fairly undeveloped about same-sex couples in trust and estate law and the current state of the law is the same-sex couple will be afforded the same rights whenever the word spouse is used. There needs to be special consideration for same-sex couples in their estate planning arrangements.
For more information on Blended Or Alternative Family Structures In FL, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (904) 398-6100 today.
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