Blended families are increasingly common across Tennessee. Whether you are entering a second marriage, raising stepchildren, or managing obligations to children from a prior relationship, your estate plan requires careful thought. The goal is usually twofold: to provide for your spouse while also ensuring your children are not unintentionally disinherited. Without a coordinated plan, family conflict and unintended outcomes are all too common.
At Champagne Law Firm, we help families navigate this delicate balance by designing customized estate planning solutions that reflect your real wishes, protect relationships, and reduce the risk of disputes.
Key Tools for Blended Family Estate Planning
- Marital and QTIP Trusts
- A Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trust is one of the most powerful tools available in second-marriage planning. With a QTIP trust, you can provide lifetime income and support for your spouse while preserving control over where the assets ultimately go often to your children from a prior marriage. This arrangement allows you to care for your current spouse without compromising your children’s inheritance.
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
Tennessee law specifically enforces prenuptial (antenuptial) agreements that are entered freely, in good faith, and without duress. These agreements can clarify expectations, protect premarital property, and reduce the chance of disputes down the road. Even after marriage, postnuptial agreements can serve as important clarifying tools, especially where significant assets or business interests are involved.
Coordinated Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, pensions, and life insurance policies override the instructions in your will or trust. Without review and coordination, children from a prior marriage could be unintentionally excluded or a spouse could be left unprotected. A well-designed estate plan audits these designations, aligns them with your overall intentions, and ensures there are no hidden gaps.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Blended family estate planning in Tennessee often runs into pitfalls that can undo even the best of intentions. For example:
- Real Estate Titled with Survivorship Rights – A home held jointly with rights of survivorship will pass entirely to the surviving spouse, bypassing your will or trust. This can unintentionally cut children out of the inheritance.
- Uncoordinated Beneficiaries – A retirement account naming only a spouse or only children can tilt the balance in ways you never intended.
- Outdated Plans – Wills and trusts created before remarriage can quickly become outdated, creating conflicts between your current spouse and children.
At Champagne Law Firm, we focus on aligning each element of your plan—wills, trusts, titles, and designations so they work together as a complete and cohesive strategy.
Thought Leadership and Financial Perspective
Choosing the right estate planning attorney is especially critical in second-marriage planning. Many clients are balancing assets like retirement accounts, investment portfolios, and business ownership interests. Our founding attorney, Kelly Champagne-Deutekom, brings a unique background as both a Wall Street veteran and an estate planning attorney. This dual perspective helps clients design estate plans that are not only legally enforceable but also designed with finances and investments in mind.
For a deeper perspective on financial advisor credentials and selection, see Champagne Law Firm’s feature on Yahoo Finance: Cracking the Code: The Husking of Financial Advisor Designations
Talk With Us
Estate planning for blended families is about more than documents—it’s about protecting relationships, honoring commitments, and creating peace of mind for everyone involved. We take the time to map out multiple scenarios and outcomes, so your plan reflects exactly what you want, no matter what the future holds.
Together, we can create a plan that provides for your spouse, protects your children, and safeguards your legacy. Call us today at 865-228-8080 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with an experienced Tennessee estate planning lawyer and begin protecting your legacy. Champagne Law Firm serves the communities of Middle and East Tennessee with offices in Nashville, Sevierville, and Rogersville.
