Children From a Previous Marriage
I watch how people find this blog. It gives me an idea of the topics in which people are interested. One search was "estate planning in arizona and children from a previous marriage".
As a general rule, in Arizona, children from a previous marriage have a special status under the law. If you do not have a will or a trust, then the government will give half of your community property and half of your separate property to children of a previous marriage. The surviving spouse gets the rest.
I have seen this outcome and it is often very tragic. Once, because of the way a couple had structured their investment properties, the husband owned the rental house in his name. It was the couple's retirement. When he died, his wife lost half of the retirement to the children of the husband.
Usually, when there are children of a previous marriage a trust is a good idea. The trust is structured so that the surviving spouse gets to use the money during his/her life, but then at the surviving spouse's death the money can go to right children. Otherwise, if a will is used the surviving spouse gets the money and the surviving spouse could give it to anyone, and the children could get nothing.
If you are married and you or your spouse have children from a previous marriage you need to speak with a qualified Arizona estate planning attorney. This general information is insufficient for any planning.
