Woody and Kate each had two children from previous marriages and willed everything to each other, expecting their four kids to split the estate equally. After Kate died, Woody remarried and rewrote his will to favor his new wife's child, cutting out Kate's two children entirely. An irrevocable trust set up after Kate's death could have prevented this.
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What I'm about to describe to you is a true story. It's a situation that could have been easily avoided. So save this video. Woody and Kate fall in love and decide they want to get married. Both had been previously married and they each had 2 children from their prior marriage. They each create a will that leaves everything to the surviving spouse. And then upon the surviving spouse's death, everything would be split equally among their 4 children. So far, so good. Then Kate died. Woody remarries. After being married to this new spouse for 2 years, Woody changes his will. That's right. Woody cut out the 2 children from his previous wife, leaving everything to his two kids and the child of his current wife. The solution that could have protected all four of the children would have been to create a trust after Kate's death that would hold assets for the rest of Woody's life. Woody could have benefited from the income from those assets during his life. At his death, all the assets would have been split up between the four kids. This would be a trust that Woody could not have changed regardless of whether he had ever gotten remarried. Good planning can protect everyone you care about.
