Before your single mother or father remarries, it's important to have a conversation about estate-planning issues.
While the topic may feel uncomfortable, addressing potential concerns about how remarriage could affect your inheritance — without appearing greedy — requires tact and careful planning.
Experts recommend initiating the discussion by focusing on your parent's wishes and financial security rather than your own interests. Frame the conversation around protecting their assets and ensuring their legacy reflects their values.
Consider involving a neutral third party, such as an estate planning attorney or financial advisor, to help facilitate the discussion. This can lend credibility to the conversation and remove the appearance that adult children are simply protecting their own financial interests.
Key topics to address include updating wills, trusts and beneficiary designations; discussing the role of any new spouse in financial decisions; and clarifying how assets will be distributed after both parents have passed.
Approaching the subject with respect for your parent's autonomy and new relationship, while clearly stating your concerns, can help preserve family relationships while protecting everyone's interests.
