Families come in all shapes. Second marriages, stepchildren, children from earlier relationships and partners who have chosen not to marry are all part of modern family life in Cardiff and across Wales. Families have changed, but inheritance law hasn’t always kept up. That gap can leave the people you love most without the protection you’d expect.
If you’re part of a blended family, a will is the main way to make sure your partner is looked after and your children still inherit what you intend. This guide covers the most common pitfalls, and how a wills solicitor in Cardiff can help you get the balance right.
What Happens If You Don’t Have a Will?
If you die without a will (known as dying “intestate”), the intestacy rules decide who inherits. These rules follow a fixed order and don’t take your wishes or your family set-up into account.
For married couples or civil partners with children, the surviving spouse receives your personal belongings, the first £322,000 of your estate, and half of anything above that. Your children share the rest.
For blended families, the gaps are significant:
- Stepchildren receive nothing unless you legally adopted them
- An unmarried partner receives nothing, however long you’ve been together
- Your own children could wait years to inherit, or miss out entirely
Does Getting Married Cancel My Will?
Yes, and this catches many people out. In England and Wales, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically cancels any will you made before. The only exception is a will written specifically in anticipation of that marriage.
So if you wrote a will to protect your children after a previous relationship and have since remarried, that will may no longer stand. The Law Commission has recommended changing this rule, but for now it still applies.
Divorce works differently. It doesn’t cancel your will, but your ex-spouse is treated as if they had died, so any gifts to them fail. That can leave parts of your will not working as planned, so it’s worth reviewing it after any separation.
The Risk of “Sideways Disinheritance”
Many couples make “mirror wills”, where each partner leaves everything to the other, then to all the children. It feels fair, but it depends on trust and circumstance.
Once the first partner dies, the survivor owns everything outright and is free to change their will. If they remarry, start a new relationship or drift apart from their stepchildren, the first partner’s children can be left out completely. It isn’t always deliberate either: remarriage alone cancels the survivor’s will.
This is known as sideways disinheritance. It’s one of the most common concerns we hear from blended families.
How a Trust Can Protect Everyone
A popular solution is to leave your share of the family home in a trust within your will, often called a life interest trust.
Put simply, your partner can carry on living in the home for the rest of their life, or until a point you choose. When they die or move out, your share passes to your children. Your partner keeps their security, and your children’s inheritance is protected.
How you own your home matters here. If you own it as “joint tenants”, your share passes automatically to your partner, whatever your will says. Changing to “tenants in common” means you each own a defined share that you can leave as you wish. It’s a simple change, but it needs to be done properly.
Don’t Forget What Sits Outside Your Will
Some of your most valuable assets may not be covered by your will at all:
- Pensions usually pass according to an “expression of wish” form held by the scheme
- Life insurance may go to a named beneficiary, or can be written into trust
- Joint bank accounts normally pass to the surviving account holder
Check that these are up to date, especially if a former partner is still named.
Certain people, including stepchildren who were treated as part of your family, can also make a claim against your estate if they feel they haven’t been reasonably provided for. A carefully drafted will that records your reasons makes disputes far less likely.
How Dudden Law Can Help
At Dudden Law, our Estate Planning team regularly helps blended families in Cardiff and across South Wales plan ahead with confidence. We’ll take the time to understand your family, talk you through your options, and draft a will that protects your partner and your children together.
Whether you need a new will after remarrying, advice on a life interest trust, or a review of how you own your home, we’ll explain everything in plain English.