How To Make A Will For Blended Families

New relationships happen all the time and sometimes one or both parties already have children from an earlier relationship or marriage. If you are part of a blended family, you will want to make sure your children are taken care of in the future – how can you ensure your children inherit your estate when you die?

It’s only natural to want to protect your children and to want your children to inherit their share of any property you and your partner own, when you die, and for this to be fair. The most effective way to do this is with a Will trust.

Life Interest Trust

The most effective way for blended families to safeguard their individual children’s inheritance is to include a special trust in their Wills.

A life interest trust enables you to protect and provide for your children after you die – this trust also enables you to look after your partner when you die too.

By including a trust in your Will, you prepare for the future you want for your children after you’re gone. When you or your partner dies, the surviving partner can continue to live in the property you both owned, and the deceased partner’s share of the property is protected in a trust.

When the surviving partner dies, the property is usually sold. When this happens, the protected shares of the property will pass to the respective children. Sometimes, however, the trust also ends if the surviving partner remarries or goes into care, depending on what is written in the Will – and it is at this point that the property is sold, and the respective children inherit their ring-fenced share of the property

Declaration Of Trust

You can place an additional safeguard in your Will to ensure whatever amount you contributed at the time of buying your property, passes to your children. This is particularly beneficial when the partners are contributing different amounts to the property purchase – each contribution can be stated in a Declaration of Trust.

Having a Declaration of Trust ensures that when the property is sold, the money is divided fairly to the partners’ respective children and according to how it was originally invested by the partners.

Safeguards in your Wills are a good way to protect your children’s inheritance in a blended family. Even if the surviving partner changes their Will, the children of the deceased partner will still inherit their specified share of the property and estate.

How HLF Berry Solicitors Can Help

We are here to help blended families protect both their partner and children after they die, even if the surviving partner remarries or the family set-up changes.

You can add a life interest trust into your Will to ensure that when the property is sold after you and your partner die, your children will inherit your specific share of the property. You would also need to make a separate Declaration of Trust that states the specific share you own in your property and the contribution you made to its purchase,. You protect yourself and your partner by doing this also, as the surviving partner can live in the property for the rest of their life.

We can help you draft the right Will for your blended family and make sure the details of your life interest trust are suitable for your planned future. At every step of the process, we will provide advice and guidance so that your finished Will provides the protection and peace of mind you that your family deserve.

To speak to one of our specialist solicitors about making a Will for your blended family, please contact us at our Chorlton office on 0161 860 7123 or via email chorlton@hlfberry.com or at our Failsworth office on 0161 681 4005 or email failsworth@hlfberry.com