Who would win in a blended family cage match: the Brady Bunch or the family from Step By Step? 🧐 We’d love to see a bonus round with Alice the maid and Cody, the fun-loving uncle who lived in a van in the driveway. 🤪🚌
When you partner up with a brand new family, it’s important to reassess your finances and get them in order. 📝
Here’s Five Fast Facts on blended family financials:
- 👨👩👦👦 All In the Family - As far as families go, nontraditional is becoming the norm. In 2021, over 20% of opposite-sex cohabiting couples included at least one partner with kids from another partner. That same year, the Census Bureau recorded over 2.4 million stepchildren.
- 💍 Prenup Pregame - Getting remarried? Consider drafting up a prenup before you tie the knot. Should your marriage end (and we hope it doesn’t), a prenup can help you divide your assets among your kids from a past marriage and any future kids (and grandkids) with your current spouse.
- 💸 Not My Debt - Prenups also come in clutch when it comes to debt. In a divorce, a prenup helps outline whether or not you’ll be responsible for any debts your spouse brought into the marriage, including child support. No prenup? If you live in a community property state, your spouse’s debt could become yours, even if it’s not in your name.
- 🧮 Banana Split - When it comes to expenses, figure out how you and your partner will split things for your kids. This goes for everything from school supplies to contributions to college savings plans. DIY with a simple spreadsheet or tap a financial planner for help. Don’t forget, if you have college age stepkids, your finances must be included on their FAFSA.
- 📑 Estate of Affairs - Once you’ve remarried, make sure your estate plan is up to date to include new family members. Update your will, life insurance, retirement accounts, and health care directive forms to include your new spouse and/or stepchildren as beneficiaries.
🔥Bottom line: We hope these blended family financial tips help keep you sane in your brand new Full House! You got it, dude. PS - if you need more deets on prenups, we’ve got you covered. Check out this article for why they’re not just for the 1%.
Are you in a blended family?
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