How did you choose to arrange your financial lives for a second (or third) walk down the aisle?

When I met my wife a few years ago, I had just been through a very bitter divorce. That was my second marriage, although I don’t really count my first (four months, age 19, you get the picture). So I sat my current wife down and explained to her that I never wanted to go through that kind of thing again. She was very understanding. She’s widowed and has two grown children. We set up a trust for her kids and for my four from my marriage. We divided it very amicably and, I think, fairly.
-Spencer, 61, Columbus, Ohio

When we got married four years ago, at the ages of 64 and 68, we consulted a lawyer to see what we should do to make sure that everyone was protected. We wrote separate wills that will leave our money to our children from our previous marriages. Since we both came in with nice-sized nest eggs, we weren’t really worried that the other person would run out of money if one of us died. We have a joint checking account that we both contribute to equally. We use it for most of our expenses and for big-ticket items like vacations. Our arrangement works for us, and we don’t have to worry that our kids will be left in the lurch.
-Truman, 72, Anaheim, Calif.

Although we are both on our second marriage, we have been married a pretty long time–23 years. My husband has a daughter from his previous marriage that I helped raise because her mother was out of the picture. I don’t have biological children, but I consider [my husband's daughter] to be my daughter. So when we got married, we just combined everything, with everything going to our daughter when we die. We were lucky that it was pretty simple for us because I know some families have a real hard time sorting out whose children are going to get what.
-Maria, 65, Corpus Christi, Texas