Making a Will After Remarriage: What Blended Families Need to Consider - My Local Will Writer
This article covers the law in England and Wales. Scotland has different rules.
Remarriage is one of the most significant triggers for updating a will, and one of the most commonly overlooked. If you had a will before you remarried, it no longer exists – marriage in England and Wales automatically revokes any will made before it. Unless you have made a new will since your wedding, you currently have no valid will at all. Here is what that means for a blended family, and how to put things right.
Why Remarriage Revokes Your Will
Under the Wills Act 1837, marriage automatically revokes any will made before it. This applies to first marriages and subsequent ones equally. It does not matter when the old will was made or how recently it was updated – the moment you marry, it is gone.
The one exception is a will made “in contemplation of marriage” to a specific named person. A will written this way, with the correct wording, can survive the marriage it anticipates. This is uncommon, and most people will not have one.
The practical result: if you remarried without making a new will, your estate would be distributed under intestacy rules – which may be very far from what you intended, particularly if you have children from a previous relationship.
What Intestacy Means for a Blended Family
Intestacy rules are a blunt instrument. They apply a fixed legal order to your estate, whether or not it fits your family life.
If you have no children, your spouse inherits everything under intestacy. That may be exactly what you want – but it leaves no room for nuance, and no provision for anyone else you might have wanted to include.
In England and Wales, where there are children, a surviving spouse receives the first £322,000 of the estate (correct as of time of writing), plus half of anything above that threshold. The remainder passes to your children – but only your biological or legally adopted children. Stepchildren have no automatic rights under intestacy. That catches a lot of families out. A stepchild may feel like your child in every way that matters day to day, but the law does not treat them the same unless you have made provision in a valid will.
A will gives you that nuance. Intestacy does not.
What a Blended Family Will Needs to Cover
A will after remarriage is rarely just about naming a spouse and calling it done. It needs to deal with the real shape of the family.
Your new spouse. You need to decide what you want them to inherit and how secure you want their position to be. For some couples, that means leaving everything to each other. For others, especially where children from previous relationships are involved, the balance needs more careful thought.
Your children from a previous relationship. If you want to make sure they eventually inherit part of your estate, your will needs to say so clearly. In some blended family situations, a life interest trust may be worth considering. This allows a surviving spouse to benefit from certain assets during their lifetime – living in the family home, drawing income – while protecting the capital so that it ultimately passes to your children. That arrangement is more complex than a basic will, which is one of the clearest reasons to use a professionally drafted, solicitor-checked document.
Your stepchildren. They have no automatic inheritance rights just because you are close to them or because they have been part of your life for years. If you want a stepchild to receive something, they need to be named in the will. This is a decision that requires thought, not an assumption you can leave unaddressed.
Guardianship. If any of your children are under 18, your will should name a guardian. The other biological parent retains parental responsibility automatically; the guardian clause acts as a safeguard if both parents die.
Your executor. In a blended family, that role carries more weight than usual. You want someone organised, fair-minded, and trusted by everyone involved. Where family dynamics make that difficult, a professional executor is worth considering.
Should You and Your New Spouse Make Wills Together?
In most cases, yes. After remarriage, both partners should make new wills.
Mirror wills are often the starting point – separate wills with similar terms, where each partner leaves their estate to the other and sets out what happens if both die. They are clear and practical. But blended families do not always fit neatly into a mirror will structure. If one or both of you have children from previous relationships, or if there are different expectations around inheritance, something more individually drafted may be needed. Better to address it properly now than leave it unresolved. Nobody wants their final legacy to be a family WhatsApp argument with probate attached.
My Local Will Writer can draft wills for both partners through the same process, making it easier to ensure the arrangements work together.
A Note on Mutual Wills and Life Interest Trusts
Some couples look at mutual wills – legally binding agreements designed to stop one partner changing their arrangements after the other dies. They can sound appealing, but they are legally restrictive and can create real problems if circumstances change.
Life interest trusts are often a more flexible option for blended family planning, allowing a surviving spouse to benefit from assets during their lifetime while protecting the capital for children in the long run.
Both go beyond a standard will and benefit from professional legal advice alongside the drafting process. My Local Will Writer’s wills are solicitor-checked, which is the right level of assurance for most situations. Very complex estates may warrant additional specialist advice. If you and your partner are not yet married, the picture is even more exposed – unmarried couples have no automatic inheritance rights at all under intestacy.
Remarriage is the right time to make sure your will reflects the family you have now. You can start your will online and get both partners sorted through the same process.
FAQ
I got remarried – do I need a new will? Yes. Your previous will no longer exists. Marriage in England and Wales automatically revokes any will made before it, under the Wills Act 1837. Without a new one, your estate will be distributed under intestacy rules, which may not reflect your wishes – particularly if you have children from a previous relationship or stepchildren you want to provide for.
Does remarrying cancel my existing will? Yes, automatically and entirely. It makes no difference when the old will was made or how recently you updated it.
What happens to my children’s inheritance if I remarry? Under intestacy, your children share part of your estate with your spouse. But “children” in law means biological or legally adopted children, not stepchildren. A will lets you set out exactly what you want to happen.
Do stepchildren automatically inherit if I die? No. Stepchildren have no automatic rights under intestacy or law. If you want your stepchildren to inherit, they must be named explicitly in your will.
What is a life interest trust and do I need one? A life interest trust allows a surviving spouse to benefit from assets during their lifetime, with the underlying capital passing to named beneficiaries – typically children – on the survivor’s death. It is a common arrangement in blended family wills and a good reason to use a solicitor-checked document.
Should my new spouse and I make wills together? Yes. Both partners should make new wills after remarrying. My Local Will Writer can handle both through the same process.