Protection For Second Marriages And Blended Families
Second marriages are common and the protection arrangements almost never get revisited to match.
People bring existing policies with them, often still naming a former spouse or sized for a household that has since dissolved. On top of that sits a question that does not arise in a first marriage: there may be children on one or both sides who are not the other partner's children.
That makes this one of the few stages where who gets the money is a harder problem than how much of it there is.
The short answer
In a second marriage with children from an earlier relationship, the difficulty is usually direction rather than amount. Leaving everything to a new spouse relies on them passing it on to your children later, which is not something a will can compel once they own it, so the practical answer is normally separate policies with named beneficiaries, usually written in trust.
What this changes
- There may be children from a previous relationship with a claim on your intentions but not always in law
- Existing policies may still be arranged around a former partner or an old mortgage
- A divorce settlement or maintenance obligation may still be running and may need protecting
- Marrying normally revokes an earlier will, which can leave your estate following rules you did not choose
- Stepchildren are not automatically treated as your children under the intestacy rules
- Two sets of family expectations now exist, and they do not always point the same way
The bit people miss
The assumption that does the damage is leaving everything to the new spouse and trusting it reaches your children eventually. Once that money is theirs, it is genuinely theirs. They can spend it, they can remarry, and their own will decides where it goes next, which may reasonably favour their own children over yours. Nobody is behaving badly in that story. It is simply what ownership means. If you want your children to receive something specific, the way to achieve it is to direct it to them rather than to route it through somebody else and hope.
Why Separate Policies Usually Beat A Joint One
A joint life policy is simple and often slightly cheaper, and in a first marriage with shared children it is frequently fine.
In a blended family it tends to create the exact problem you are trying to avoid. A joint policy on a first death basis pays out once, to the survivor, and then ends. The money is then theirs to deal with, and your children's position depends entirely on what they choose to do and what their own will says.
Two separate policies cost a little more between them and solve this cleanly. Each person's cover can name their own beneficiaries, so your children receive what you intended directly, and your spouse is still provided for by your policy to whatever extent you decide. It also means the survivor is left with their own cover still in force, rather than with nothing.
Check What Your Old Policies Say
This is the five minute job that gets left for years, and it is worth doing before anything else.
Policies arranged during a previous relationship may still have that partner named as a beneficiary or as a trustee, and a policy generally does what its paperwork says rather than what your circumstances now imply. People are occasionally surprised to find a former spouse named on cover they have been paying for since.
Marriage also normally revokes an existing will, which means a newly married couple can easily be in a position where neither has a valid will and the intestacy rules apply. Those rules do not treat stepchildren as children. That is a solicitor's job rather than ours, but it is the sort of thing worth knowing about while you are looking at the policies.
What usually fits, and why
Usually arranged as separate policies rather than one joint one, so each person can direct their own cover to the people they intend without it depending on the survivor's later decisions.
The mechanism that makes the direction stick. A trust names who receives the payout on the policy itself, which does not depend on a will being current or on anybody else passing it on.
Separate from the inheritance question and often the more likely claim, particularly where maintenance or school fees depend on one person continuing to earn.
Common questions
Should we have a joint policy or two separate ones?+
In a blended family, usually two separate policies. A joint policy pays once to the survivor and then ends, which leaves your children's position depending on what the survivor later chooses and what their own will says. Separate policies let each of you direct your own cover to the people you intend.
If I leave everything to my new spouse, will my children get it eventually?+
Only if your spouse decides to pass it on, and that is their decision once the money is theirs. They may remarry, they may need it, and their own will governs where it goes next. If you want your children to receive something specific, direct it to them rather than relying on it being handed on.
Are my stepchildren treated as my children?+
Not automatically under the intestacy rules, which apply if there is no valid will. If you want stepchildren to benefit, it generally needs saying explicitly, either in your will or by naming them in a trust on the policy. Worth getting proper advice on, because it is easy to assume otherwise.
Does getting married affect my existing will?+
Marriage normally revokes an earlier will, which catches a lot of people out. It means a recently married couple can both be without a valid will, with the intestacy rules deciding instead. That is a solicitor's job, but it is worth knowing about while you are reviewing the policies.
My old policy still names my ex-partner. What happens?+
The policy generally does what its paperwork says rather than what your situation now suggests, so this is worth checking and changing. Whether and how it can be changed depends on the policy and on any trust arrangement, which is exactly the sort of thing to put in front of us so it can be looked at properly.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.