According to the 2021 Census there were 781,000 stepfamilies in England and Wales, and some estimates suggest as many as one in three UK families is now blended in some form. STEP's Barometer 2026 report found that 71% of practitioners surveyed agree complex blended families are the leading cause of legal or planning challenges to succession and inheritance. If you are in a second marriage, or a relationship with children from a previous partnership, this is written for you.
Why standard estate planning fails blended families
Dying without a Will
The intestacy rules date from 1925. Under them, stepchildren have no automatic right to inherit, an unmarried partner receives nothing, and the estate passes by a fixed hierarchy that ignores your real relationships. For many blended families, intestacy means the first partner's children can be entirely written out.
Mirror Wills, and why they are not enough
Mirror Wills (each leaving everything to the other, then to all children) are deeply vulnerable in a blended family. Once you die, your surviving partner owns everything outright and is free to change their Will, remarry, or leave it to a new family, with nothing enforcing the original intention. Your children could be excluded in favour of your partner's.
Relying on goodwill
Goodwill is not legally enforceable. People and circumstances change. A properly structured plan replaces goodwill with legal certainty, not because you distrust your partner, but because love should not be the only thing standing between your children and their inheritance.
The central challenge: two competing needs
The surviving partner needs security, the right to remain in the home and be provided for. The children, from both sides, need certainty that their inheritance cannot be redirected. These needs are not mutually exclusive. The tool that meets both is a trust, and for most blended families with property, a Property Protection Trust written into your Will.
How a Property Protection Trust protects everyone
This structure places your share of the family home into a trust on your death, rather than passing it outright to your partner:
- Your surviving partner keeps the full right to remain in the home for life
- Your share is ring-fenced and cannot be redirected if your partner remarries or rewrites their Will
- When your partner dies, your share passes to your chosen beneficiaries
- Only your partner's share is considered in any future care-fee assessment
The danger of joint tenancy
How you own your property matters enormously. As joint tenants, your share passes automatically to the survivor on death, outside your Will, and a Property Protection Trust cannot apply. As tenants in common, each owner holds a defined share they can leave as they choose. For blended families, tenants in common is almost always right, and changing from joint tenancy is a straightforward legal step.
Stepchildren and the law
Stepchildren have no automatic right to inherit from a stepparent's estate unless explicitly named in a valid Will, even if the stepparent previously inherited everything from the child's biological parent. If you want your stepchildren to inherit, you must say so explicitly, and if you want certainty even after a partner remarries, you need a trust structure, not just an expression of intent.
Marriage revokes your previous Will
Marriage automatically revokes any previous Will in England and Wales. Remarry without making a new Will and your existing one is invalidated, with the intestacy rules taking over. The solution is non-negotiable: write a new Will after every marriage.
A practical checklist
- Your Will: names stepchildren if you wish, includes the right trust structure, written after your most recent marriage, names a trusted executor
- Your property: owned as tenants in common, with your share passing into a trust on death
- Your LPAs: both types in place, with attorneys reflecting your current family
- Your nominations: pension and life-insurance beneficiaries up to date (these pass outside the Will)
The conversation that changes everything
Estate planning for a blended family is emotional as much as legal. Honest conversations about money, children and fairness can feel uncomfortable, but having them now, calmly and with guidance, is infinitely better than leaving your children to have them while grieving, with no legal framework. We come to you, listen to your circumstances, and build a plan where both partners are protected and both sets of children have certainty.
Questions we are often asked
What happens if I don't make a Will?
The law decides how your estate is divided; your spouse may inherit most or all of it, leaving children from previous relationships without a share.
Can I leave money directly to my stepchildren?
Yes, but you must specifically name them in your Will or trust. Stepchildren do not automatically inherit unless legally adopted.
How can I make sure my children from my first marriage inherit fairly?
A trust is often the best solution: it provides for your spouse while guaranteeing your children ultimately receive their share.
How often should I update my plan?
Every few years, and especially after marriage, divorce, or the birth of children or grandchildren.
If your family is more complicated than a standard Will can handle, we would love to help, across North Somerset, Bristol and Bath, in the comfort of your own home.