There is a question that sits quietly in the back of every remarrying parent’s mind, even when the wedding is joyful and the future looks bright. The risk to children’s inheritance when remarrying is something most families never discuss — and the silence costs them dearly.
The moment you remarry, your existing will is automatically cancelled under a law that dates back to 1837. Your children’s inheritance when remarrying is therefore not protected by the will you made years ago. That document is worthless — cancelled the moment you said “I do”. And unless you make a new will promptly, everything you have built could end up going somewhere you never intended.
This article explains exactly what happens to your children in these circumstances, introduces a real case that solicitors cite across the UK, and lays out the 5 steps you need to take to make sure your family is properly protected.
Throughout this article we refer to husbands, wives, and surviving spouses for ease of reading — but everything here applies equally regardless of gender, relationship structure, or whether you are in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership.
Dawn’s Story — The Case That Every Solicitor Knows
| ⚠️ Dawn Webb — A Widow Whose Sons Were Left with Almost Nothing |
| Dawn Webb was a widow with three sons from her first marriage. |
| After being widowed, she found happiness again and remarried. |
| Dawn had a will in place. She assumed it protected her sons. She did not update it after the wedding. |
| The moment Dawn remarried, her will was automatically cancelled. She did not know this. |
| When Dawn died, the intestacy rules applied. Her new husband received the lion’s share of her estate. |
| Her three sons received far less than she had ever intended — from an estate built over a lifetime. |
| Dawn’s intentions were clear. Her love for her sons was not in question. The law simply did not care. |
| This case is cited by solicitors across the UK because it shows precisely how children’s inheritance when remarrying can vanish — not through greed or malice, but through one piece of overlooked paperwork. |
What makes Dawn’s case particularly powerful is that she was not naive about wills. She was a widow — she had already been through the process. She had a will. She thought she was prepared. But she had never been told that remarriage cancels a will automatically, and nobody thought to mention it. Protecting children’s inheritance when remarrying requires specific action that most people simply do not know they need to take.
Children’s Inheritance When Remarrying — What the Intestacy Rules Actually Pay Out
When remarriage cancels a will and a parent dies without making a new one, the rules of intestacy take over. These rules follow a rigid formula that does not care what the parent intended, what they promised at the kitchen table, or what anyone assumed would happen.
If the estate is worth £322,000 or less:
The new spouse inherits everything. The children from the previous marriage receive nothing. Not a penny of an estate their parent spent a lifetime building.
If the estate is worth more than £322,000:
The new spouse receives all personal possessions plus the first £322,000. The remainder is split — half to the new spouse, half shared equally among the children.
| 📊 What Children Actually Receive — Three Real Scenarios |
| Estate worth £280,000: New spouse inherits everything. Children receive ZERO. |
| Estate worth £400,000: New spouse gets £361,000. Two children share £39,000 — £19,500 each. |
| Estate worth £600,000: New spouse gets £461,000. Two children share £139,000 — £69,500 each. |
| This is what children’s inheritance when remarrying looks like under intestacy rules — not what most parents imagine. |
The GOV.UK intestacy page shows the current rules and the £322,000 threshold, which is reviewed periodically.
The Danger That Goes on After You Are Gone — Sideways Disinheritance
There is a deeper danger to children’s inheritance when remarrying that most families never consider — and it can be more devastating than the initial loss. It is called sideways disinheritance, and it can strip your children and grandchildren of everything, even years after you have gone.
Here is how it works. You die. Your new spouse inherits the bulk of your estate. Your new spouse is under no legal obligation to leave anything to your children. They could change their will. They could remarry — which would cancel their own will — and their new partner could inherit everything. The assets you spent forty years building pass sideways out of your bloodline entirely, to people who were strangers to your family a few years ago.
Statistics show that 60% of widowed men and 20% of widowed women re-partner — which means the risk of sideways disinheritance is not a remote possibility. It is a near certainty without proper planning. Family disputes over wills have risen 37% since 2019, with blended family situations accounting for a significant proportion of those cases.
Stepchildren — The Most Overlooked Victims of All
One group faces an even starker outcome when it comes to children’s inheritance when remarrying — and that is stepchildren. Under the intestacy rules in England and Wales, stepchildren simply do not exist. They are invisible to the law. It does not matter if you have raised them since they were toddlers, if they call you mum or dad, or if they have lived in your home for twenty years. As Citizens Advice confirms, only biological or legally adopted children have automatic inheritance rights. Stepchildren get nothing unless named explicitly in a valid will.
This is the detail that catches blended families hardest. The children you may have spent decades caring for have no legal claim whatsoever. The only protection for stepchildren is a properly drafted will that names them clearly.
The Family Home — A Hidden Trap Most Couples Walk Straight Into
Many remarried couples own their home as joint tenants — the default form of joint ownership in the UK. It feels natural. But for blended families, it creates a serious hidden risk that most people never realise until it is too late.
When you own a property as joint tenants, you both own 100% of it together. When one of you dies, the property passes automatically to the survivor — regardless of what your will says. Your children from your previous marriage have no claim on it. The house simply transfers to the new spouse.
The solution is to change the ownership to tenants in common. As tenants in common, you each own a defined share — typically 50%. Your share can then be left in your will, placed into a life interest trust, and ring-fenced for your children. The change is simple and inexpensive. A solicitor can arrange it with a Notice of Severance registered at the Land Registry. It is one of the most important steps in protecting your children’s future.
The 5 Urgent Steps to Protect Children’s Inheritance When Remarrying
The good news is that protecting children’s inheritance when remarrying is entirely achievable with the right planning. Here are the five steps every parent in this situation needs to take.
Step 1 — Make a New Will Immediately After Remarrying
This is the single most important step. Your old will was cancelled the moment you married. Until you make a new one, you have no will at all. Contact a solicitor and make a new will as soon as possible after the wedding — ideally before it, written in contemplation of the marriage.
Step 2 — Switch the Family Home to Tenants in Common
If you own property jointly with your new spouse as joint tenants, change it to tenants in common. This means your share can be placed in a life interest trust for your children rather than passing automatically to your spouse on your death.
Step 3 — Set Up a Life Interest Trust
A life interest trust is one of the most commonly used tools for blended families. It allows your new spouse to live in the family home and benefit from your assets during their lifetime — while ring-fencing the underlying capital for your children when your spouse dies.
However, it is not without drawbacks. In some cases beneficiaries can wait decades to inherit, and it may not be the right solution for every family. We cover the full picture, including the hidden problems nobody warns you about, in our article 6 Life Interest Trust Problems That Could Affect Your Family — essential reading before committing to this route.
Step 4 — Name Stepchildren Explicitly
If you have stepchildren you want to provide for, name them explicitly in your new will. Do not assume the intestacy rules will treat them fairly. They will not. A will is their only protection.
Step 5 — Review Your Nomination Forms
Your pension, death in service payment, and life insurance are not controlled by your will. They pay out to whoever is named on the nomination form. If those forms still name an ex-spouse, that is where the money goes. Review and update every nomination form after remarriage. We cover this in full in Does My Ex Wife Still Get My Pension If I Die? — essential reading once you have dealt with the will.
| 📋 Quick Summary — Protecting Children’s Inheritance When Remarrying |
| ✓ Remarriage cancels your existing will automatically — make a new one immediately |
| ✓ Estate under £322,000: new spouse gets everything under intestacy — children get nothing |
| ✓ Estate over £322,000: children receive a fraction; new spouse takes the majority |
| ✓ Stepchildren have zero automatic rights — name them explicitly in your will |
| ✓ Joint tenants ownership passes the home to your spouse automatically — consider tenants in common |
| ✓ A life interest trust protects your children without leaving your new spouse without security |
| ✓ Sideways disinheritance can strip grandchildren too — a trust prevents this |
| ✓ Nomination forms on pensions and life insurance must be updated separately from your will |
What Is a Life Interest Trust and How Does It Work?
For some families, a life interest trust can be a useful tool for protecting children’s inheritance when remarrying — but it is not without drawbacks and is not right for every situation. Here is how it works in plain English
- You leave your share of the family home — or other assets — into a trust in your will.
- Your new spouse, called the life tenant, has the legal right to live in the property or receive income from the trust for the rest of their life.
- When your new spouse dies, the trust assets pass automatically to your chosen beneficiaries — your children.
- Your new spouse cannot sell the assets, redirect them, or change who ultimately inherits.
- If your new spouse remarries, the trust assets remain ring-fenced — they cannot flow to a new husband or wife.
- The trust can include flexibility — for example, allowing the new spouse to downsize if needed, with the proceeds staying in the trust.
Typical costs start from around £700 to £850 plus VAT for a straightforward life interest trust — a modest investment against the value of the assets being protected. A STEP-qualified solicitor specialising in blended families can advise on the exact structure that suits your situation.
For a full guide to the will-making process, see our article Making a Will in Retirement which covers every step clearly and in plain English.
Is the Law About to Change?
There is positive news on the horizon for families worried about children’s inheritance when remarrying. In May 2025, the Law Commission published Modernising Wills Law — a landmark report recommending that marriage should no longer automatically cancel a will. Under the proposed new law, a will would remain valid after remarriage unless the person chose to change it.
The Government has welcomed the report and is giving it detailed consideration. But it is not yet law. Until Parliament acts, the 1837 rule applies in full. Do not wait for the new law before making a new will and protecting your family.
The MoneyHelper wills guide is a free, authoritative resource to help you understand your options before speaking to a solicitor.
Your Questions Answered
| Q: How at risk is children’s inheritance when remarrying if I already have a will? |
| A: Children’s inheritance when remarrying is at serious risk even if you have a will — because remarriage automatically cancels that will under the Wills Act 1837. Your existing will offers no protection whatsoever from the moment you marry. The only solution is to make a new will promptly after the wedding, or — better still — before it, written in contemplation of the marriage. |
| Q: Can my children challenge the outcome if they feel they have been left with too little? |
| A: Yes — they can make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they believe they were not reasonably provided for. However, legal costs can run to tens of thousands of pounds with no guarantee of success. A life interest trust in a properly made will is infinitely preferable to a court battle. See Making a Will in Retirement for how to get the protection right first time. |
| Q: Does a life interest trust mean my new spouse has no security? |
| A: Not at all. A life interest trust gives your new spouse the right to live in the property and benefit from the trust assets for the rest of their life. They are fully looked after. It is only the underlying capital — the ownership — that is ring-fenced for your children. Both your new spouse and your children are protected. That is precisely why it is the recommended solution for blended families. |
| Q: Does any of this apply in Scotland? |
| A: No. The rules around children’s inheritance when remarrying covered in this article apply to England and Wales only. Scotland has its own succession law, which works differently and gives children some automatic rights regardless of a will. If you live in Scotland, please take Scottish-specific legal advice. |
Related Reading on Honest Pensioner
→ Will My New Wife Inherit Everything? The 5 Remarriage Mistakes That Could Rob Your Children
→ Does My Ex Wife Still Get My Pension If I Die?
→ Making a Will in Retirement: 7 Dangerous Consequences of Getting It Wrong
Honest Pensioner is not a law firm. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. Always take independent legal advice before making or amending a will.
