Remember the story of the lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls, all of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls... and there was the man named Brady who was busy with 3 boys of his own, they were 4 men living all together, yet they were all alone. Then one day when this lady met this fellow and they knew it was more than just a hunch, that this group must somehow form a family and that's the way they became the Brady Bunch? This is the most popular blended family we all recognize. Think about how beautifully everything worked out for them in becoming a blended family. Aside from the typical disagreements among children, it was a picture perfect end result of two families coming together and living in harmony. How great! In fact, if you missed the intro to each show, you would never even know that these children were all from a prior marriage. Unfortunately, in the real world blended families can be a bit more challenging to navigate, especially when it comes to estate planning. Blended families are more and more common now especially with more than half of marriages in our country ending in divorce. Three-fourths of those remarry and of those who remarry, 65% have children from previous marriages. Though there can be great joy and happiness as a result of being in a blended family, there are also important estate planning issues that arise. If you are a blended family it is important to consider specific assets that you want your new spouse and your children to have. You will need to determine the rights of your new spouse to your estate. While considering your new spouse, your children, your new spouses children, one simple and best practice to keep in mind is to designate a trustee that is not your spouse but a neutral party.Although it is uncomfortable to think about how things can become ugly...your surviving spouse disinherits your children or when both spouses pass, children from one side of the family take control of the estate and exclude the children from the other side, these are essential to consider so you can protect all of the people you love. While I don't recall a Brady Bunch episode being a trip to the families Estate Planning Attorney, it would be a great idea for you if you are in a blended family to make the necessary adjustments in your estate plan. I am sure you would not want your Marcia and Bobby to live in chaos if you should pass away.