Second Marriages and the Will Your Children Depend On

We sat with two adult children last month. Their father had died suddenly. He had remarried ten years prior. They arrived expecting to discuss his legacy. They left understanding they would receive almost none of it.

Their father had a Will. It was clear and left his assets to them. But he made a simple mistake. When he remarried, he didn't write a new one. In England and Wales, the act of marriage automatically revokes any prior Will. His intentions were rendered invalid by the ceremony.

The £322,000 Question

Because his old Will was void, the Rules of Intestacy took over. The law, not his wishes, dictated the outcome. His new wife was legally entitled to all personal possessions and the first £322,000 of his estate. The remainder was split in half: 50% to her, and 50% to be shared between his two children. Their family home was worth around £600,000. The children’s share was far smaller than their father had ever imagined. The tension this created was palpable. No one felt they had received what the deceased would have wanted.

A Structure for Security

This outcome was completely avoidable. This is not about choosing between a new spouse and children from a previous relationship. The right structure provides for both. A Life Interest Trust, written into a new Will, is a standard tool for this exact situation. It gives the surviving spouse the right to live in the family home, or receive an income from assets, for the rest of their life. They are secure. But the capital – the house, the investments – is held in trust. It passes to the children only after the second spouse has died. It protects the inheritance for the children without displacing the new partner.

This isn't just about assets. It's about preventing a conflict that can destroy a family. If your circumstances have changed, your planning must change too. We can talk about it.