Wills And Children From Prior Relationships

Everybody knows they should have a will, but is it really necessary? The answer is pretty easy if there are children involved from a prior relationship. The answer is a definite yes. Here is why.

Many individuals do not have a will. The numbers we hear tossed about are 60% to 70% of the adult population. For that reason, most states and countries have laws identifying who will get what upon an individual dying without a will.

Colorado falls into that category. Depending on marital status, years married and children, the state of Colorado takes its best guess about who an individual would probably make gifts to upon death.

In the case of a married, heterosexual couple and children all from the single, heterosexual marital relationship, the surviving spouse takes it all. In legal lingo it goes something like this: If all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there are no other descendants of the surviving spouse who survive the decedent, then the surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate.

As one could imagine, this gets interesting and expensive very quickly when children from prior relationships are thrown into the mix. I am not even going to try and explain the various permutations and combinations. Suffice it to say, the surviving spouse will share the deceased spouse’s estate with the deceased spouse’s children. This is true even if all of the deceased spouse’s children are children of the surviving spouse if the surviving spouse has other children from a previous relationship. In the case of minor children, this may mean dealing with the deceased spouse’s former partner. This also includes all children regardless of the actual relationship with the deceased parent. In some cases, it can be an adult child the deceased parent has not seen in twenty or more years. Like I said, it gets interesting and expensive, fast.

The obvious solution is to have a will or trust plan identifying who will receive what upon death. In Colorado, there are no forced heirship laws like in Europe. There is no requirement that children receive any share of a parent’s estate. Subject to some rules regarding rights of a surviving spouse, an individual is free to do as they please with their money. When children from previous relationships are involved, it is wise to have a will.