Buying a home in a conservation area: What you need to know before you proceed
Second marriages and blended families are increasingly common across England and Wales.
In fact, there were more than 105,000 divorces in England and Wales in 2025 and the median marriage that ended that year had lasted over 12 years.
For many of those individuals, a second marriage will follow, often with shared children, property and financial arrangements already in place.
Blended families can produce some of the most complicated and bitterly contested estate disputes seen in the courts.
It is understandable, as most people in a second marriage want to provide for their current spouse and their children from a previous relationship.
The difficulty is that without the right legal documentation in place, those two objectives are far harder to achieve simultaneously than they might appear.
Why a standard Will is often not enough
The most common approach for couples is to make mirror Wills, which leaves everything to each other and then, on the second death, to the surviving children.
For blended families, this approach carries a significant risk that is easy to overlook.
Once the first spouse dies and the survivor inherits everything outright, they are free to change their Will.
They may remarry or fall out with their late partner’s children or have care costs that reduce the estate substantially.
In each of these scenarios, the children from the first marriage may inherit little or nothing, despite the original intention of the deceased.
This pattern, sometimes called sideways disinheritance, is not hypothetical. It arises regularly in practice and it is entirely avoidable with careful planning.
These issues typically arise due to a misunderstanding about Wills, in particular, that marriage automatically revokes any existing Will unless that Will was made specifically in contemplation of the marriage.
Those who remarry without updating their estate documents may find that earlier Wills are no longer valid at all, leaving their estate to be distributed under the rules of intestacy, which may not match their intentions – especially in regard to children from previous relationships.
Tools that can protect everyone
A life interest trust is one of the most effective structures for blended families.
It allows a surviving spouse to continue living in the family home or to receive income from the estate during their lifetime, while ringfencing the underlying capital for children from the first marriage.
The interest ends on the survivor’s death or, if agreed, on remarriage, at which point the capital passes to the intended beneficiaries.
Discretionary trusts offer additional flexibility where family circumstances are likely to change over time, allowing trustees to exercise judgment about who benefits and when.
Where the family home is jointly owned, moving from a joint tenancy to a tenancy in common means that each spouse’s share passes under their will rather than automatically to the survivor.
This is a straightforward step that is often overlooked but which makes a significant difference when a life interest trust is in place.
Under the intestacy rules of England and Wales, stepchildren inherit nothing automatically. Unmarried partners also inherit nothing.
Without a valid and up-to-date will that specifically names the intended beneficiaries, the estate will not be distributed in the way most people in blended families would wish.
Keeping the plan current
Estate documents for blended families need to be reviewed after any significant change in circumstances, such as:
- The birth of further children or grandchildren
- Changes in the value of assets
- Divorce or remarriage of a beneficiary
- Changes in the relationship between family members
A letter of wishes alongside a Will can provide trustees with guidance without creating legal obligations, offering flexibility that a rigid document cannot.
If you are in a second marriage or have a blended family and want to make sure your estate is structured to reflect your intentions, please get in touch. Our team can help you find an approach that protects everyone you want to provide for.
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