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These days, second and even third marriages are fairly commonplace. And the estate planning issues that arise from multiple marriages can be highly complex and confusing. So, how do you navigate estate planning for a blended family?

Merging two families into one presents unique legal and financial challenges that can cause significant conflict and distress unless effective estate planning has been put into place early on. Here are a few of the most common issues that blended families should keep in mind when it comes to estate planning.

If you get remarried and have children from your previous marriage(s), you need to think about how you want to balance providing for your new spouse and ensuring the children from your previous marriage are taken care of in the event you become incapacitated or when you die.

If you intend to keep your assets separate, so each spouse can pass an inheritance to his or her own children, you’ll need to create and maintain separate accounts. One account contains the assets you want to pass on to your children, and the other can be either a separate or joint account that contains the assets you want to share with your spouse.

If you and your spouse commingle your income and assets, then the new spouse will have claim and control of those assets when you die, which can leave your kids with nothing. Moreover, joint accounts can be subject to claims from a former spouse and/or creditors, so unless you want your new spouse to share that risk, keep at least some assets separate.

And, if you’re keeping assets separate, be sure to talk with us about how to do that properly, as it can get tricky, particularly when you start sharing some assets and buying new assets together.

If you have children for whom you want to leave an inheritance, you should think about how and when you want those assets passed on. For example, what if you die prematurely or your spouse is significantly younger than you? Do you want your kids to wait until the new spouse dies to claim their inheritance, or do you want them to receive it immediately following your death?

Establishing a trust can protect assets for each spouse’s children and stipulate when the kids receive their inheritance. You may want to provide your children with some of their inheritance, such as proceeds from a life insurance policy, upon your death and then release the rest at some point in the future. Or if your kids are very young, you may decide to leave that decision up to your spouse or a third-party successor trustee.

A common scenario for blended families is for one spouse to set up a living trust that names themselves as the trustee during his or her lifetime, with the surviving spouse named as successor trustee once they die. This is done to ensure the surviving spouse will be provided for for life and the children will receive the remaining assets once the new spouse passes.

But the new spouse and your children may have conflicting interests, especially if the spouse is older. For example, the new spouse may choose to invest the assets conservatively, ensuring he or she has enough money to live comfortably for a few more decades. However, the children—particularly if they are younger—might be better off having the assets placed into higher-risk investments, which can offer better returns in the long run, but leave less income for the surviving spouse.

In this case, it’s best to name a neutral third-party as successor trustee, so both the children and surviving spouse’s interests can be balanced fairly.

That said, we do recommend leaving at least something to your children from a prior marriage immediately upon your death (in trust if your children are minors). By doing so, you can mitigate potential conflicts between your children and surviving spouse.

A last will and testament is the most commonly thought-of document when it comes to an estate plan. But really it is only a very small part of an integrated plan that ensures your family stays out of court and out of conflict if and when something happens to you.

Do not think you can just write your own will and that will help your family.

You have probably seen ads from services that tout the idea that you can write your own will quickly – maybe even while you are in the security line at the airport (seriously, we have seen those ads in our own Facebook feeds).

Instead, consider the reality that trying to do so could actually create far more trouble for your loved ones down the road if you try to write your own will. Your family and loved ones need you to get professional support from someone who can help you look at what you own, who you love, and what would happen to you and everyone you love if and when something happens to you.

Death is unavoidable – and incapacity may happen before that. These are non-negotiables.

Facing these matters head-on leads you – and your loved ones – to having the best life possible. Otherwise, it is the people you love who get stuck with everything you were not willing to take care of now.

Unfortunately, if you go it alone, you may miss important facets of what happens in the event of your incapacity or death. For example, you may think that a will is sufficient when what you really need is a probate avoidance trust to keep your family out of court. A five-minute will won’t help you stay out of court.

Or you may think your kids are adequately protected because you have a will, but you may really need a full Kids Protection Plan® and without it your kids could end up in the care of strangers, even if just temporarily. Before you do anything, get educated and empowered to do what is right.

The right plan for you begins with knowing what you have, and then being clear on what is necessary to keep your family out of court and conflict and keep your assets out of your state’s unclaimed property fund. If you are ready to write your will, that is great – come see us first.

The biggest mistake you can make is not facing the reality of death, the second biggest mistake is facing it alone.

If you need help getting started, consult with us your Personal Family Lawyer®. We will help you through the process so you can make sure your loved ones are protected and your wishes are honored.

Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. If you’re ready to create a comprehensive estate plan, contact us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session. Even if you already have a plan in place, we will review it and help you bring it up to date to avoid heartache for your family. Schedule online today.

Business owners who launch workplace health and wellness programs can enjoy a wide-range of valuable benefits, not just for their employees, but for the entire company.

Outside of a healthier and happier team, such programs can also increase productivity, save money, and even enhance your brand’s image among current and prospective employees.

If you’re looking for a relatively simple way to motivate your staff and increase loyalty, workplace wellness programs should be at the top of your list. The following are just a few of most powerful benefits participating companies can experience.

The most valuable benefit of employee health and wellness programs for business owners is improved productivity. The healthier your employees are, the better they’ll be at their jobs.

In fact, one study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that employees who participated in health and wellness programs each gained an average of 10 hours in additional productivity annually. This boost saved their companies $335 in productivity costs per person per year compared to non-participants.

Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year, or $225.8 billion annually.

Wellness programs that help employees develop healthier lifestyles will ultimately improve their productivity—and your bottom line.

Health and wellness programs not only improve employees’ physical health, but they also improve their mental health. This can be incredibly valuable for small business owners, as employees at small- to medium-sized companies often feel the most stressed out, as they’re typically shouldering more responsibilities than those at bigger firms.

You don’t need any studies to prove that less stressed-out employees are going to be happier and more productive. Happier and healthier employees are naturally going to have improved work performance, and that’s all the more reason to institute simple things to improve their health outcomes.

Simply providing access to healthy snacks and drinks in the workplace can encourage your team to take short breaks and eat food that will boost their energy levels. Or you might offer flexible work schedules and/or work-from-home opportunities—anything to make employees feel more content.

Again, it’s a no-brainer that healthier employees are going to take fewer sick days. To achieve this, you should provide resources to help improve employee health behaviors.

The easiest way to get employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle is no big secret—simply give them increased opportunities to eat better and exercise more frequently. Most people want to eat healthier and exercise, but many feel like they just don’t have the time.

Stocking the workplace with healthy snacks is one easy option. But you can also give employees more time for lunch, so they don’t have to rely on fast food, or offer to cater lunch for them, and order the food from a nutritious eatery.

It terms of exercise, you can start weekly workplace-sponsored yoga, aerobic, and/or dance classes. Or offer those who use the gym at lunch or right after work an extended break/ earlier time off, so they can more conveniently fit exercise into their daily routine. This might even cause your more sedentary employees to start a fitness regimen out of jealousy.

• Family businesses think and act in terms of longevity, making investment decisions looking at a minimum 10-20 year horizon and thinking multi-generationally, instead of just what’s needed right now.
• They make prudent financial decisions often forgoing big returns available during good times in order to increase their odds of survival during downturns.
• They are more conservative when it comes to their investments seeking only strong investments that are almost guaranteed on their returns, again sometimes forgoing the big wins in exchange for consistent smaller wins.
• Family businesses take on less debt, 37% on average v. 47% for non-family business endeavors. Note this doesn’t mean no debt, but they tend to be less leveraged.
• They diversify. The analysis found that family businesses diversified more than those with traditional corporate structures. Diversified businesses are more flexible and tend to pull ahead in leaner times.
• They embrace global expansion. This brings vulnerability as well as potential. Family businesses tend to be more international, and that pays off in the long run.
• They have a lower employee turnover rate. Talent sticks around, productivity increases, company culture strengthens, and the feedback loop continues. Employees really believe in the power of the team effort. Most importantly here, they don’t rely on financial incentives to keep team members. Instead they focus on creating a culture of commitment and purpose, avoiding layoffs during downturns, promoting from within, and investing in people.

These attributes complement each other and when combined have an effect that is greater than their parts.  Resilience is the key over performance when it comes to family businesses. Whether family owned or not, your business may be able to adopt some of these attributes for success. If you want to prudently plan for your business’s growth, start by sitting down with us. As your Creative Business Lawyer®, we can help your business integrate some of these traits for success.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule. Or, schedule online.

Even though the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) makes it legal on a federal level for employers to use pre-employment credit checks, several states have passed legislation that’s much more strict and overrides these federal allowances.

Currently, 11 states have enacted laws that restrict how and when employers may use credit checks to make hiring decisions—and two of those states (Hawaii and Washington) bar employers from pulling such reports at all. Major metropolitan areas like New York City and Chicago also regulate employment credit checks.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), some 20 states are on considering passing similar laws, so make sure you’re familiar with your state’s policies. Much of what you need to know can be found by checking with your state’s department of labor.

If your state allows such credit checks, you must still abide by FCRA’s guidelines, which require employers to take three actions:

1. Obtain an applicant’s consent before pulling a credit report.
2. Issue applicants advance notice—and a copy of the credit report—if the company is considering rejecting them on the basis of their credit.
3. Provide applicants with an adverse action notice if the company decides not to hire them because of the credit check.

Keep in mind, if you request a credit report for a potential hire, you won’t get the same report sent to lenders. Instead, you’ll get a report designed for employers, offering a brief summary of the candidate’s credit history, but no credit score. Included in the report are current and past debts, bankruptcies, late payments, and the candidate’s debt-to-income ratio.

Before running a credit check on a potential hire, you must notify them and get their written permission to do so. The credit check notice and authorization should be provided in a separate document that doesn’t hide the terms inside a bunch of other information, such as within a standard employment application.

If you’re thinking of not hiring the applicant over their credit, FCRA requires you give them a written notice stating as much. Additionally, you must give them a copy of the credit report as well as a copy of the Federal Trade Commission’s “A Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA,” which explains how they can challenge any incorrect information in their history.

Although not required by law, it’s a good idea to use this opportunity to meet with the applicant and allow them to explain and/or correct their information. This make sense given that consumer groups have found up to one-third of all credit reports contain errors. Moreover, recent studies show that more than half of all unpaid consumer debt is for medical procedures, which are far less likely to be caused by a candidate’s reckless spending.

If you ultimately decide not to hire an applicant based on their credit history, you must give them another document known as an “adverse action notice.” This informs them of the reason for not being hired and provides additional information on their consumer rights, including the right to dispute the report’s accuracy.