The Basics

GoGo Estate's Blended Family Plan includes the following documents:

  1. Blended Family Revocable Trust
  2. Pour Over Wills
  3. Advanced Directives
  4. Health Care Powers of Attorney
  5. Durable General Powers of Attorney

The Brady Bunch is more and more a reality in today's changing landscape. More couples are adding stepchildren to the mix, which makes planning a little more complicated. The last thing anyone wants to think about, or even expects, is having their spouse write their children out of the estate. And while most people trust their significant others not to do that, experience tells us that that's not always the case. That is why GoGo Estate created the Blended Family Plan.

The Blended Family Plan includes a trust that both protects the surviving spouse and the deceased spouse's family line. The properly unlock the benefits of the Blended Family Plan, you must "fund" the trust, meaning transfer assets into the trust or designate the trust as beneficiary to those assets. While this process may seem tedious, GoGo Estate provides our clients with appropriate guides to help through this process.

The Details

The trust included in the Blended Family Plan is a special type of revocable trust. What distinguishes the Blended Family Trust from the trust included in our Standard Plan is how assets are distributed after the death of the first spouse/partner to die. When one spouse/partner dies, two trusts are created: (1) the Survivor's Trust and (2) the Family Trust.

The Survivor's Trust consists of the assets that the surviving spouse/partner contributed to the trust before the deceased spouse's death. The Survivor's Trust is completely amendable and revocable by the surviving spouse.

The Family Trust is funded with the deceased spouse's assets. The Family Trust IS NOT REVOCABLE by the surviving spouse, although the surviving spouse can still benefit from the assets in the trust. When the surviving spouse dies, however, they are not allowed to distribute the assets in the Family to anyone other than the deceased spouse's family line. This protects the deceased spouse's children and grandchildren from being "written out of the trust."

When both spouses die, there are three primary ways in which the ultimate beneficiaries (your respective kids and grandkids) receive their share of the trust assets:

  1. Outright Distribution: If the beneficiary is over a certain age or is not receiving means-tested government benefits (like SSI or Medicaid), then the successor trustee distributes the beneficiary's share outright to the beneficiary with no strings attached.
  2. Subtrusts: If you stipulate that a beneficiary cannot receive assets until they reach a certain age (i.e., 25 or 30), then their share is held in a "subtrust" created after your death. Prior to the beneficiary turning the age you set, they receive distributions for their education, health, support, and maintenance. Once they turn the age you choose, they receive a lump-sum distribution outright from the trust.
  3. Supplemental Needs Trust: If a beneficiary is receiving means-tested government benefits like SSI or Medicaid, then their share is distributed into a supplemental needs trust. This is so that the beneficiary does not lose these important government benefits. There are strict distribution requirements and limitations contained within the provisions of the supplemental needs trust.

The remaining provisions of the trust relate to trustee powers, the process for appointment, replacement, or removal of successor trustees, and whether or not the trustee is entitled to compensation. The trust document also outlines procedures for trust ownership of retirement plans and prevents beneficiaries from contesting the terms of the trust so that your wishes are locked in stone.

Other Documents

Below is a description of the other documents included in GoGo Estate's Blended Family Plan:

  1. Pour Over Wills: This will acts as a failsafe mechanism, transferring any assets not owned by the trust and without proper beneficiaries into the trust after your death.
  2. Advanced Directives: These documents state your end-of-life wishes and authorize your doctors, family, and friends to withdraw care in the event that you cannot communicate care for yourself.
  3. Durable Health Care Powers of Attorney: This document allows someone else to make health care decisions for you in the event you cannot make those decisions for yourself.
  4. Durable General Powers of Attorney: This document allows someone to do everything else (except for health care) that you are legally allowed to do for yourself.

Create a Blended Family Plan

If you have a blended family and want to protect both your spouse and your respective children, consider working with GoGo Estate to establish a Blended Family Plan today!