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Estate planning with a blended family has become increasingly complicated lended families, creatâ€" Bcd by the marriage or commonâ€"law relationâ€" ship of partners with chilâ€" dren from a previous relaâ€" tionship, are becoming increasingly common. If you have a blended family, you may not have given much thought to the added complexities your new situation brings to estateâ€"planning issues. But you should, otherwise your legacy may not be passed on according to your wishes. Here‘s why: In many provinces, a new marriage, commonâ€"law or civil union may render all previous wills null and void. So you can‘t assume that the will you prepared prior to entering into your new relaâ€" tionship will be enforceable. Put simply: when you enter a new relationship, be sure to redo your will. But a simple will is not enough. Here are two common misconceptions that can prevent your beneficiaries from receiving the inheriâ€" tance you‘d like them to have. 1 can leave my estate to the kids Some people think they can leave their entire estate For a complete list of prires and lotery rules. see our full brochure or viut our webisite or contact the Canadian Red Cross A total of 6242 prues will be awarded All draws will take place at the offices of BeanngPornt. 200 Consumers Raad. Sutte 500, North York. Ontane Only 10,000 ickets will be printed for The Red Cross Lottery. of which $,000 tickets will be included as prufes tor the Early Bird Draws. Lottery Licence # PO62172 | LOTTERY | EARLY BIRD CUT OFF Eesnc c May 31st Double the prizes! Double the chances to win! Canadian Red Cross $1.5 million in prizes! Biggest and Best Ever! Earty Bird cut offâ€" Midnight May 31", 2007 Earty Bird Draws: June 1N", 2007 Final Draw cut offâ€" Midnight June 14", 2007 Final Draws: June 25" and 26", 2007 Not necessarily â€" if you do that, your new spouse could make a claim on your estate (through a familyâ€"law claim or a dependent‘s relief claim) that may consume a large portion of your assets. It is often much more prudent to leave your surâ€" viving spouse enough to satâ€" isfy any family property claims and direct the rest to the children. I can leave everything to my spouse to pass on Some people think they can leave everything to their spouse and when he/she dies, the total estate will pass directly to the children. to their kids RUSS MCEACHNIE Not necessarily. If all your assets are under joint ownâ€" ership, he or she is not required to leave any money to the children from your previous marriage. If your surviving spouse dies without a will, everyâ€" thing will go according to the intestacy rules under the law, which may exclude stepâ€"children. If your spouse remarries, the estate could be left to his/her new spouse and/or family. And even if your survivâ€" ing spouse indicates in his/her will that all assets go to "the children," by law that does not necessarily include | Tuition $600 | | *pay only $525 if you fax this registration back to _ | | St. Jude‘s before May 30 â€" our fax # is 519â€"884â€"0316 | Home Telephone # eâ€"mail address I Our child will attend. . . the Waterioo school ____ . the Kitchener school ____ | * Your child‘syplace in HeadStart School will beiheld until the tuition is received or | for a maximums.of 40 days. Cheques are to be made payable to‘St. Jude’sSdtooI.l * You will be notified immediately if no spots are available. | For more information, call us OF reglder onâ€"line at ... . | 519â€"888â€"0807 www.stjudes.com ; Child‘s First and Last Name Present Grade Mother‘s and Father‘s First and Last Name Home Address including postal code stepâ€"children One way to ensure your children from a previous relationship receive the inheritance you wish them to have is to bequeath a set amount to your children and leave sufficient funds to your surviving spouse (so your will can‘t be successfulâ€" ly challenged). That‘s why insurance is often an important estate planning tool for blended families. By carefully selectâ€" ing the right type of life insurance and your direct beneficiaries, you can use insurance to help meet the needs of each child and your Continued on page 25 Michael Torreiter & Rachel Vanden Berg Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine 207 King St. 5.. facing John St. ibeside Newtex LEARN MORE ABOUT NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE SATURDAY, JUNE 2 « 2â€"5pm OPEN HOUSE Waterloo * 519â€"578â€"7000 www.healingpathcentre.com WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, May 23, 2007 * 23 Centre Natural Medicine