How Does a Second Marriage Affect my Estate Planning?

*Collaborative Post

A second marriage can reshape your family structure, create new obligations and introduce legal risks that didn’t exist before. A marriage will also automatically revoke a will, which means that if you don’t update your estate planning documents after remarrying, your wealth could be distributed in a way that conflicts with your intentions or leads to disputes between your surviving family members.

Whether you have children from a previous relationship, own property jointly, or are supporting a new spouse, it’s essential to review your estate planning in full when you get remarried. In this article, we explore how remarriage affects wills, inheritance and probate and explain how will disputes solicitors can help resolve or prevent problems if they arise.

Marriage revokes your previous will

In England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes any earlier will unless that will was clearly made in contemplation of marriage. If you remarry and don’t draft a new will, your estate will be distributed according to the intestacy rules when you die. These regulations prioritise your new spouse above other dependants, including any children from a prior relationship.

This is one of the most common causes of unintended exclusion in blended families. If your new spouse inherits everything, they will be free to distribute your estate as they wish or retain it all, and there’s no guarantee that your children will receive anything from your estate. Careful planning can make sure that everyone you want to provide for is included and protected.

Stepchildren and blended families

Legally, stepchildren are not entitled to inherit unless you name them in your will. This becomes especially relevant in blended families, where you may want to leave something to all of your children, not just those related by blood. If you die intestate or your will is not properly updated, stepchildren are excluded under the default rules.

Disputes can also arise where adult children feel displaced by the new relationship or are concerned about undue influence. The clearer and more deliberate your estate planning is, the easier it is to protect everyone’s interests.

How trusts can help

In remarriage situations, life interest trusts are a common way to balance support for your spouse with protection for children from a previous relationship. This structure allows your spouse to benefit from income or property during their lifetime, with the capital eventually passing to your children.

Trusts can also be used to:

• Protect inherited wealth from a previous generation.
• Ringfence property you wish to keep in your family line.
• Reduce Inheritance Tax exposure.
• Avoid disputes by making intentions legally binding.

It’s advisable to seek legal guidance when setting up the trust, so that both tax implications and legal considerations are properly addressed.

Watch out for jointly held property and nominations

Even with a valid will in place, some assets may not pass according to its instructions. This is because certain types of property and financial arrangements fall outside the control of a will and instead follow other legal mechanisms.

Jointly owned property held as joint tenants will automatically pass to the surviving owner due to ‘the right of survivorship’. This transfer happens regardless of what the will says, and can override your intentions to leave your share to someone else, such as children from a previous marriage. If you want your share of a jointly owned property to pass under your will, you will need to change the ownership to a ‘tenancy in common’ first.

Pensions and life insurance policies are another example. These are usually distributed based on nomination forms or expressions of wishes submitted to the provider or pension scheme. These forms must be kept up to date, especially after major life changes like marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child. If these records are outdated or contradict the will, the provider may distribute the funds to someone unintended.

Bank accounts held jointly are also treated separately. In most cases, the account will automatically pass to the surviving holder and won’t form part of the deceased’s estate. This can cause issues where one partner intended for the money to be shared more widely among their children or stepchildren.

Avoiding will disputes

Second marriages often create competing expectations around inheritance. Adult children from a previous relationship may assume they will inherit directly, while a new spouse may expect to receive the entire estate. Where a will is outdated, ambiguous or omits someone who was financially dependent on the deceased, it may be open to claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

Disputes can also arise where informal promises were made but not recorded in the will, or where complex financial arrangements – such as property held jointly or assets gifted during the deceased’s lifetime – are not clearly reflected in the estate plan. If the will appears to depart from what family members expected, this can prompt legal proceedings, even in situations where the testator had good reason for their decisions.

It’s important to regularly review your will and other estate documents, particularly after a change in family circumstances. This will protect your intentions and reduce the likelihood of family conflict and legal claims after you have gone.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.