Estate planning can be complicated as a stepmom. You know that there are higher odds of getting into a dispute with your stepchildren, and the whole process can be very complicated.
As such, you want to address some of these potential complications in advance. The more airtight you can make your plan, the easier things will go for all involved.
Why do these disputes happen?
There are a lot of reasons why disputes happen between children and their stepmothers. One reason is that women tend to live longer than men. This means that the children’s father may pass away, and they ordinarily would have inherited everything at that point, but the assets may simply pass to you as their stepmother. They can feel some resentment at having to wait even longer, or they may feel like they don’t approve of how you are using your assets – because they really think of them as their own future assets.
Another problem may be the age at which you entered the family. If you became the stepmom when the children were still little, they probably have a very strong connection to you, similar to what they would have to their birth mother. But if you married their father after they were already adults and they’d moved out of the house. They may not feel very close to you at all. This could make the entire process more difficult because they won’t feel the need to cooperate with you.
You know that you’re in a complicated situation, and it’s very important to get your estate planning right. Be sure you know about all the options you have and how you can utilize them to avoid disputes and make things go smoothly.