This morning I met with a Metairie couple where each spouse was on their second marriage. The husband had 6 children from his prior marriage while the wife had 3. We created a Louisiana Revocable Living Trust for the family to avoid the potential for a messy probate where the kids on each side would fight it out for rights in each spouse’s estate.
The couple wanted the husband’s side of the family to get half of the trust and the wife’s side to get half of the trust. So instead of dividing the trust equally between all nine kids on both sides, we set up the trust in a way that allows the 2 sides to be treated equally. The spouses will be able to control and use the funds in trust as long as either survives, and then once both spouses pass, whatever is left in the trust will be divided into two. The husband’s half will be divided 6 ways, meaning each of his kids gets 1/12 of the total trust. While the wife’s half will be divided 3 ways, meaning each of her 3 kids gets 1/9th of the total trust. The family felt this was appropriate as to not show favoritism toward the husband’s side of the family.
If you have a blended family and are trying to figure out the best way to avoiding a battle between the two sides, call (504) 274-1980 in the Metairie and New Orleans Area or call (985) 246-3020 in Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, Houma, Thibodaux, and surrounding areas.