Families today come in all shapes and sizes. While it no longer takes a mom, dad, and biological children to make a home, trying to work through estate planning can still be difficult for non-traditional families. In Ohio, many of the laws were put into place with the traditional family structure in mind. If you are a non-traditional family that is working to understand the estate situation, then we’re here to help! Keep reading to discover ways that you can make your plans to include your diverse family.
Understand Your Role in Estate Planning
Since all of Ohio’s intestacy laws focus on how to distribute someone’s estate to only traditional family members, it’s vital for those who are part of a non-traditional family to take action and begin formulating a plan long before they pass away. Everyone has to be specific and deliberately set forward their wishes to ensure that those closest to them will receive their property after death. This is especially important in cases where one’s parents or siblings are going to be in conflict with current partners or stepchildren.
Adding a No-Contest Clause to a Will
In cases where your biological family may try to dispute your wishes, you need to add a “no-contest” clause to your will. This clause not only sets your final preferences in stone but will make it so that any person who tries to change your wishes will forfeit their ability to get any part of the inheritance.
Making Use of Beneficiary Status
When making the arrangements for your life insurance and retirement programs, make sure to put your partner, stepchildren, or other special loved ones as the beneficiaries. This will ensure that they receive all your benefits after you pass since it is almost impossible to challenge these final wishes.
Consider a Living Trust
If you are trying to find the best way to ensure that your non-traditional family members receive the money you want them to have, you can consider setting up a living trust. This trust makes it so that you are in charge of your finances, real estate, vehicles, and other material possessions while you are alive but, as soon as you pass away, the person that you have established as your beneficiary becomes in total control.
Establishing a Power of Attorney
Not only should you worry about who receives your possessions after your death, but you should also take into consideration who will be in charge if you become sick or injured. You don’t want a biological family member to swoop in while you are out of commission and take over! To keep this from happening, you need to establish a power of attorney who can handle your affairs until you regain your ability to take care of them yourself.
Refer to Each Child by Name
If you have stepchildren, are raising grandchildren, or consider some children to be your own when they aren’t biologically yours, it’s important to name them specifically in your legal documents. Instead of offering a broad blanket statement about “my children,” list each of them with their full name.
The people who make up your family are essential, even if you all don’t belong to a traditional family structure. To ensure that everyone can continue with their way of life after your death, take a simple first step and schedule your no-cost Estate Planning meeting with Ison Law today! Email Barb at [email protected] to schedule your appointment.
