Blended Families

Everyone should have a clear plan for who they want to benefit in the event of their death and how the assets are to pass at that time in the most tax and cost-effective way possible.

Creating the plan is not always easy. Those living as part of a blended family often face even greater challenges in this respect.

There is a need to ensure that financial affairs are structured, with the relevant documentation in place, so as to enable that plan to be properly implemented at the relevant time.

The ending of one relationship and the beginning of another is likely to mean the revisiting of existing plans. The chances of there not being universally shared priorities increase, as it becomes more difficult to strike the right balance between those closest to you.

A failure to ‘grasp the nettle’, to have the difficult discussions and to take the appropriate steps increases the chances both that your wishes are not carried out in the event of your death and of there being, potentially very expensive, d