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How to Protect Your Children's Inheritance in a Second Marriage

· 35 min

Note: The following scenario is fictional and used for illustration.

Robert, 58, from Manchester, thought he'd done everything right. After his first wife died, he remarried Helen and made a simple will leaving everything to her. His estate was worth £420,000—a £280,000 house he'd owned for 30 years, plus £140,000 in savings. Robert trusted Helen completely. She'd promised to "look after" his two children, Emma, 32, and James, 29.

When Robert died unexpectedly in a car accident three years later, Helen inherited everything. Then, 18 months after Robert's death, Helen remarried. Her new husband convinced her to update her will, leaving the house—the home Robert and his first wife had bought together in 1995—to his children instead.

Emma and James received nothing. Not a single pound of their father's estate. Their mother's half of the family home went to strangers.

Robert thought he was providing for everyone. Instead, his children lost their entire inheritance from both parents.

This isn't rare. Inheritance disputes rose 5% between 2023-2024, with over 10,000 cases annually in England and Wales, many involving blended families. Industry research shows that 49.5% of inheritance disputes are between siblings, while 17.1% involve disputes with spouses—conflicts that devastate families and drain estates through legal fees.

This guide shows you exactly how to protect your children's inheritance using legal tools that work: life interest trusts, protective wills, and prenuptial agreements. You'll understand which strategy fits your situation and how to implement it affordably, without insulting your new spouse or creating family conflict.

Table of Contents

Why Second Marriages Put Your Children's Inheritance at Risk

Second marriages create an inherent conflict that most people don't understand until it's too late. You need to provide for your new spouse—leaving them secure and comfortable. But you also want to protect your children's inheritance from your deceased parent or your own lifetime of work.

These goals directly oppose each other in traditional estate planning.

Sarah discovered this the hard way. Her late husband left her their £350,000 house outright. When she remarried Mark at 62, she made a simple will leaving everything to him, trusting he'd be fair to her two daughters. Sarah and Mark had a wonderful 12-year marriage.

Mark outlived Sarah by eight years. During that time, he remarried a woman 15 years younger who had three children of her own. When Mark died, his will left everything to his new wife and her children. Sarah's daughters—who'd expected to inherit their mother's house—received nothing.

The harsh reality? Your new spouse loves you, but they won't love your children the way you do.

Even with the best intentions, circumstances change dramatically after you die:

  • Your spouse may remarry (extremely common among widows and widowers)
  • They may face financial difficulties and need to sell assets
  • They may develop dementia and become vulnerable to undue influence
  • Their own family may pressure them to "look after their own"
  • They may simply outlive you by decades, during which their priorities shift completely

Legal protections aren't about distrust. They're about certainty.

"Gentleman's agreements" fail because they have no legal force. Your spouse can change their mind at any time, for any reason, without telling anyone. And if they remarry, their new marriage automatically revokes their will—exactly as it did yours.

This creates a pattern of asset dissipation: your estate passes to your spouse, then to your spouse's new family, and finally to complete strangers. Your children receive nothing.

Adult children are often shocked to discover they've been denied inheritance from the family home they grew up in. They watch strangers move into their childhood home while solicitors explain that everything was done legally. There's no recourse, no appeal, no justice.

The guilt and fairness dilemma paralyzes many remarrying parents. You want everyone to be happy. You don't want to insult your new spouse by appearing distrustful. You hope love and good intentions will be enough.

They won't be.

Here's a fact that shocks most people: getting married automatically cancels any will you made before the wedding.

Under Section 18 of the Wills Act 1837, marriage revokes your existing will completely unless it was specifically made "in contemplation of marriage" to a named person with express intention not to be revoked.

This law exists to protect new spouses from being accidentally disinherited. But it creates a dangerous trap for people remarrying.

David made a comprehensive will in 2018, carefully dividing his £480,000 estate between his three children. When he remarried in 2023, he didn't realize his will had become void. He assumed the document he'd paid a solicitor to draft was still valid.

David died suddenly in 2024. His family discovered his will was worthless—automatically revoked by his 2023 marriage.

Because David died without a valid will, intestacy rules determined how his estate was distributed. His new wife inherited the first £322,000 plus half of the remaining £158,000—a total of £401,000. His three children split the other £79,000, receiving just £26,333 each.

David intended each child to receive £160,000. They received £26,333 instead. A 84% reduction in their inheritance because of a law David never knew existed.

The "contemplation of marriage" exception is extremely narrow. The will must:

  • Specifically name the person you plan to marry
  • Explicitly state that the will is made in contemplation of that marriage
  • Include clear language that the marriage should not revoke the will
  • Be executed before the wedding takes place

This exception helps almost no one because most people make wills years before they meet their future spouse, and those who are engaged rarely think to include this specific wording.

The critical period is between remarriage and making a new will. If you die during this window—even if it's just weeks—your careful estate planning evaporates.

You must make a new will immediately after remarrying. Not next month, not after the honeymoon. Immediately.

What Happens Under Intestacy Rules When You Remarry

If your will is invalid because of remarriage, or if you never made a new will, intestacy rules control everything. These rules were designed to provide a "fair" default, but they're disastrous for children from first marriages.

Under current intestacy rules in England and Wales, when you die leaving a surviving spouse and children, your estate is distributed as follows:

  • Your spouse receives all personal possessions and household items
  • Your spouse receives the first £322,000 (the statutory legacy, increased from £270,000 in July 2023)
  • Your spouse receives half of anything above £322,000
  • Your children split the other half of anything above £322,000

This sounds reasonable until you run the numbers.

Consider a typical second marriage estate: £500,000 total (£350,000 house plus £150,000 in savings and investments).

Your new spouse receives:

  • First £322,000 = £322,000
  • Half of remaining £178,000 = £89,000
  • Total: £411,000 (82.2% of your estate)

Your three children from your first marriage split:

  • Other half of £178,000 = £89,000
  • Each child receives: £29,667 (5.9% of your estate each)

Your children receive less than 6% each while your spouse of potentially just a few years receives over 82%.

The inequality becomes more extreme with smaller estates. If your estate is worth less than £322,000, your spouse inherits everything. Your children receive nothing at all, regardless of your wishes or their needs.

Compare this to what you probably intended:

Your Intentions Intestacy Reality
Children share estate equally Spouse gets 82%, children split 18%
Everyone provided for fairly Children may get nothing
Family home stays in family Spouse owns it, can do anything
Children inherit from both parents One remarriage erases everything

There's also a 28-day survival rule: if your spouse dies within 28 days of your death, intestacy treats you as if they predeceased you and your estate passes to your children instead. But if they survive 29 days, they inherit under the rules above.

Scotland has different rules. From 1 May 2024, if you die intestate in Scotland, your entire estate passes to your surviving spouse if you have no children or grandchildren who survive you. The rules for Scotland differ significantly from England and Wales.

Intestacy isn't a plan—it's the absence of a plan. It's what the government imposes when you fail to protect your family. Don't let default rules written by Parliament determine what happens to your life's work.

Can Your New Spouse Really Cut Out Your Children?

Yes. Absolutely. And it happens constantly.

Once your spouse inherits your estate outright, they own it completely. They can do whatever they want with it:

  • Change their will to leave everything to their own children
  • Remarry and leave everything to their new spouse
  • Sell assets and spend the money
  • Gift property to relatives or friends
  • Develop dementia and become vulnerable to financial abuse

You have zero control from beyond the grave. Verbal promises are worthless.

Jennifer learned this too late. She left her £380,000 estate to her second husband Paul, trusting him to "look after" her two daughters. Paul even told the daughters at Jennifer's funeral that he'd make sure they inherited the house their mother had owned before remarrying.

Paul remarried just 18 months after Jennifer died. His new wife, understandably, wanted security for her own family. She persuaded Paul to update his will leaving everything to her and her three children.

When Paul died, Jennifer's daughters discovered they'd been completely disinherited. The house Jennifer's first husband had left her—the home the daughters had grown up in—now belonged to Paul's second wife and her children.

Jennifer's daughters consulted solicitors about contesting the will. They learned the devastating truth: they had no legal claim. The assets legally belonged to Paul the moment Jennifer died. He had every right to dispose of them as he wished.

Their only possible recourse was a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. But this Act doesn't give children a right to inherit. It only allows them to claim if they can prove they need "reasonable financial maintenance" and the will fails to provide it.

Both daughters were employed adults in their 30s. Courts rarely award significant provision to adult children who are financially independent, regardless of how unfair the outcome seems.

The scenarios where spouses change their minds are depressingly common:

Remarriage: Widows and widowers often remarry, especially if they're younger when their spouse dies. A new marriage brings new loyalties and priorities. Your children become someone else's stepchildren—people your new spouse's new spouse has never met.

Financial pressure: Care home fees average £40,000+ annually in the UK. Long-term care can consume entire estates. Your spouse may need to sell the family home to pay for their care, leaving nothing for your children.

Relationship breakdown: Your spouse and your children may start with good intentions, but grief, money, and stepfamily dynamics create conflict. Many spouses grow to resent stepchildren they feel are "waiting for them to die."

Dementia and undue influence: Cognitive decline makes people vulnerable to manipulation. Your spouse's relatives, new romantic partners, or even fraudsters can pressure them to change their will.

Simply outliving you by decades: If you die at 60 and your spouse lives to 85, that's 25 years for circumstances to change completely. The promise they made to you in 2025 feels very different in 2050.

Hope is not a strategy. Love is not a legal document.

You need enforceable legal protections—structures that guarantee your children inherit regardless of what happens to your spouse after you die.

Life Interest Trusts: The Gold Standard for Protection

A life interest trust solves the second marriage dilemma elegantly. Your spouse benefits from your estate during their lifetime, but they never own the assets outright. When they die, your children inherit exactly as you specified.

A life interest trust (also called a life rent trust) gives someone the right to benefit from an asset without owning the asset itself. Think of it like this: your spouse has the keys to the house, but they don't have the deeds.

How it works with property:

Your will leaves your £400,000 house in a life interest trust. Your spouse can live there rent-free for the rest of their life. They can enjoy the property fully—it's their home.

But they cannot:

  • Sell the house
  • Mortgage it or borrow against it
  • Give it away
  • Leave it to anyone in their will

When your spouse dies or permanently moves out (such as into a care home), the house passes to your children automatically. It doesn't matter who your spouse remarried, what their will says, or who pressured them to make changes. The house belongs to your children—always did, always will.

How it works with investments:

You can leave £200,000 in a life interest trust. Your spouse receives the income generated by those investments (interest, dividends, etc.) for life, providing them with financial security. But the £200,000 capital remains untouched, preserved for your children.

The benefits are comprehensive:

Your spouse is provided for and won't be left homeless or destitute. They can live securely in the family home or receive income from investments. They're protected.

Your children's inheritance is guaranteed. Your spouse can't change the destination of these assets. Remarriage, dementia, financial pressure, undue influence—none of it matters. The trust protections are absolute.

The trust protects against every common risk: your spouse's remarriage, their family's interference, their financial difficulties, cognitive decline, bankruptcy, even divorce (in some scenarios).

You can include flexibility provisions:

  • Downsizing rights: If your spouse wants to move to a smaller property, they can sell the house, buy a smaller one, and continue living there rent-free. Your children's inheritance is now the smaller property, but your spouse isn't trapped.
  • Emergency capital access: Trustees can be given discretion to access capital for genuine emergencies (serious illness, essential repairs, etc.).
  • Rental income: If your spouse moves out temporarily, they may receive rental income from the property.

Tax treatment is favorable:

Life interest trusts can qualify for spouse exemption for inheritance tax purposes if structured as an "immediate post-death interest" (IPDI). This means:

  • No inheritance tax when you die (spouse exemption applies even though assets in trust)
  • No inheritance tax on 10-year trust anniversaries
  • Inheritance tax is assessed when your spouse dies, based on the combined value of their own estate plus the trust assets

This is usually the best tax outcome because it preserves the spouse exemption while guaranteeing your children eventually inherit.

Trustee responsibilities matter:

Someone needs to manage the trust after you die. Trustees hold legal ownership and make decisions, but they must act in accordance with your will's instructions.

Common trustee options:

  • Your adult children from your first marriage (may create tension with spouse)
  • Professional trustee (solicitor, bank) combined with a family member (neutral but costs annual fees)
  • Trusted friend or family member who's impartial
  • A combination (two children plus one professional reduces conflicts)

You typically appoint 2-4 trustees. Too few creates risk if one becomes incapacitated or acts improperly. Too many creates deadlock.

Life interest trusts balance fairness to everyone. Your spouse is provided for. Your children's inheritance is protected. Nobody can manipulate the outcome.

This is the most common solution solicitors recommend for second marriages where both spouse and children need protection.

Alternative Strategies: Prenups, Gifts, and Mutual Wills

Life interest trusts are the gold standard, but other tools exist. Each has strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use cases.

Prenuptial Agreements

A prenuptial agreement is a contract made before marriage specifying what happens to assets on divorce or death.

Effectiveness: Prenups address divorce asset division very well. Their impact on inheritance is limited because a prenup can't prevent your spouse from changing their will after you die.

Legal status in the UK: Prenuptial agreements are not automatically legally binding in England and Wales. However, courts have given them significant weight since the landmark Radmacher v Granatino case in 2010, when the Supreme Court ruled that prenups should be upheld unless it would be unfair to do so.

Growing popularity: Research shows that 21% of married people in the UK now have prenuptial agreements, and Co-op Legal Services reported a 60% increase in prenup sales between 2022 and 2024.

Best use: Second marriages where both parties have children from first marriages and want to protect pre-marital assets from divorce claims. Also useful when there's significant wealth disparity.

Critical limitation: A prenup only controls what happens on divorce, not on death. You must combine it with a protective will. The prenup might specify that certain assets remain yours to dispose of in your will, but it can't force your spouse to leave their assets to your children.

Cost: £1,500-£3,000+ for proper legal drafting. Both parties need independent legal advice for the prenup to be enforceable.

Lifetime Gifts to Children

This means giving assets to your children before you remarry, removing them from your estate entirely.

Pros:

  • Children receive their inheritance immediately
  • Assets completely removed from your estate
  • No risk of spouse claiming them later
  • You can see your children enjoy the gift

Cons:

  • You lose control permanently—can't change your mind if circumstances shift
  • Seven-year rule for inheritance tax: gifts within seven years of death still count toward your estate for IHT calculations on a sliding scale
  • Capital Gains Tax implications on property or investments
  • May create financial hardship if you need those assets later for care fees or living expenses
  • Your children may divorce, go bankrupt, or die before you—the assets could end up in the wrong hands
  • Feels like "giving away" your security, which many older people find psychologically difficult

Best use: Small amounts or specific assets (jewelry, a second property, cash gifts) that you're certain you won't need and that won't compromise your financial security.

Don't use for: Your primary residence or savings you may need for retirement and care.

Mutual Wills

Mutual wills are when you and your spouse make mirror wills with identical terms and legally bind yourselves not to change them after the first death.

How they work: Both spouses make wills leaving everything to each other first, then to specified beneficiaries (your children, their children, or both). You create a legal contract that neither of you will revoke or change these wills. After one spouse dies, the survivor is legally prevented from changing their will.

Pros:

  • Creates contractual obligation that survives your death
  • Theoretically prevents spouse from disinheriting your children

Cons:

  • Extremely inflexible: Your spouse cannot adapt to changed circumstances, even if those changes are dramatic (needs care, faces bankruptcy, has legitimate reasons to adjust provisions)
  • Difficult to enforce and often leads to expensive litigation
  • Courts are increasingly reluctant to uphold mutual wills due to the harshness of denying someone control over their own property for decades
  • Requires crystal-clear drafting and strong evidence of the binding agreement
  • If your spouse remarries, their new spouse can claim under the Inheritance Act 1975, potentially forcing the estate to provide for them despite the mutual will

Expert view: Most wills and probate solicitors advise against mutual wills because the inflexibility creates more problems than it solves. Your spouse might outlive you by 30 years—circumstances will change.

Better alternative: A life interest trust achieves the same goal (protecting your children's inheritance) with much more flexibility for your spouse to adapt to changing circumstances.

Expression of Wishes (Letter of Intent)

This is a non-binding letter explaining your intentions and wishes to your spouse, executors, or trustees.

Effectiveness: Zero legal force. Purely moral persuasion.

Only useful when: Combined with proper legal protections as an explanation of your thinking. You might write: "I've created a life interest trust not because I don't trust you, but because I want both you and my children to be secure regardless of what happens in the future."

This helps prevent hurt feelings or misunderstandings but provides no actual protection.

Strategy Comparison

Strategy Legal Force Flexibility Spouse Protection Child Protection Complexity Typical Cost
Life Interest Trust High Medium High High Medium £650-£1,500
Prenuptial Agreement Medium Low N/A (divorce) Medium (divorce) High £1,500-£3,000
Lifetime Gifts High None N/A Medium Low Varies (tax)
Mutual Wills Medium None Medium Medium High £800-£2,000
Letter of Intent None High None None Very low £0-£200

For most second marriages involving children from first marriages, a life interest trust provides the best balance of protection, fairness, and flexibility.

Common Mistakes That Leave Children Unprotected

Even people who try to protect their children often make critical errors that undo their planning. Avoid these seven mistakes:

Mistake 1: "We Have an Understanding"

What it looks like: You and your spouse verbally agree that when you die, they'll inherit your assets but will update their will to leave everything to your children.

Why it fails: Verbal agreements have zero legal force in estate planning. Your spouse is free to change their mind at any time, for any reason, without telling anyone. If they remarry, their new marriage automatically revokes their will anyway, and your "understanding" dies with you.

Real consequence: This is the single most common cause of inheritance disputes in blended families. Thousands of children lose inheritances every year because their deceased parent relied on a handshake and a promise.

The scenario: Graham and Linda had an understanding when Graham died: Linda would inherit his house but would update her will to leave it to Graham's son eventually. Linda genuinely intended to honor this.

But Linda never got around to updating her will. Life was busy, it was uncomfortable to think about, and there was no urgency.

When Linda died 12 years later, her estate passed under intestacy rules to her brother. Graham's son—who'd expected to inherit the house his father had owned for 30 years—received nothing. He had no legal recourse whatsoever.

Mistake 2: Mirror Wills Without Protective Trusts

What it looks like: You make wills leaving everything to each other first, then to your combined children on the second death. You assume this protects everyone.

Why it fails: Your spouse can change their will immediately after you die. Mirror wills create no binding obligation. The survivor has complete freedom to disinherit your children, remarry, or leave everything to whoever they choose.

Real consequence: Children from first marriages are routinely disinherited when the surviving spouse remarries or has conflict with stepchildren.

Fix: Use a life interest trust, not an outright gift to your spouse.

Mistake 3: Assuming Children Have Automatic Rights

What it looks like: Believing that UK law entitles your children to inherit from you, so you don't need specific protections.

Why it fails: UK law gives you almost complete freedom to disinherit anyone, including your children. Adult children have no automatic inheritance rights. They can make claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, but must prove they need "reasonable financial maintenance"—disappointment isn't enough.

Real consequence: Children contest wills, spend tens of thousands on solicitors, face years of litigation, and often lose. Family relationships are destroyed even when they win.

Fix: Understand the legal reality: you must actively protect your children with specific provisions in your will.

Mistake 4: Leaving Everything to Children and Nothing to Spouse

What it looks like: Attempting to protect your children by excluding your new spouse entirely from your will.

Why it fails:

  • Your spouse can make an Inheritance Act 1975 claim for "reasonable financial provision"
  • Courts almost always favor surviving spouses in these claims, especially if they have limited income or assets
  • You create immediate financial hardship for someone you presumably loved
  • It signals relationship distrust and often indicates deeper problems

Real consequence: The court essentially rewrites your will, ordering your estate to provide for your spouse. Your children's inheritance is reduced anyway, plus the estate pays for expensive litigation. Everyone loses except the solicitors.

Fix: A life interest trust provides for both spouse and children fairly, making litigation unnecessary and claims unlikely to succeed.

Mistake 5: Not Updating Your Will After Remarriage

What it looks like: Making a will before your second marriage and assuming it remains valid.

Why it fails: Section 18 of the Wills Act 1837 automatically revokes your will when you marry unless it was made in contemplation of that specific marriage.

Real consequence: You die intestate. Intestacy rules apply. Your spouse gets the first £322,000 plus half the remainder. Your children get far less than you intended or possibly nothing at all.

Statistics: An estimated 60% of UK adults die without a valid will. The percentage is even higher among people who remarried and didn't realize their old will became void.

Fix: Make a new will immediately after marriage. Don't wait. Even a few weeks' delay could be fatal.

Mistake 6: DIY Complex Trusts

What it looks like: Using an online template to create a life interest trust without proper legal guidance.

Why it fails: Trust law is complex. Ambiguous wording creates litigation. Tax treatment depends on precise drafting. A poorly drafted trust can fail entirely, be invalid, or create unexpected inheritance tax liabilities.

Real consequence: Your "trust" doesn't protect your children at all, or the tax treatment is disastrous, or trustees end up in court spending your estate arguing about what you meant.

Fix: Simple wills with straightforward allocations can be DIY using quality services like WUHLD (£99.99). Complex trusts involving significant assets or sophisticated tax planning need solicitor review—pay the £650-£1,500 to get it right.

Mistake 7: Assuming You Have Time

What it looks like: "I'll sort this out after the wedding/next year/when I retire" mentality.

Why it fails: Death doesn't wait for convenient timing. This is especially true for older adults remarrying—you're statistically more likely to die than younger people making their first wills.

Real consequence: You die before implementing protections. Your children lose everything you intended to leave them.

The scenario: Robert was 58 and healthy when he remarried. He planned to update his will "after the honeymoon." He was killed in a car accident six weeks after his wedding. His children from his first marriage inherited almost nothing under intestacy rules.

Fix: Create your protective will before the wedding, or immediately after. Not next month. This week.

How to Implement Your Protection Strategy

You understand the risks. You know the solutions. Now implement them.

Step 1: Assess Your Situation

Create a complete picture of your estate and family structure:

Your estate:

  • Total estate value: £_______
  • Property: £_______
  • Savings and investments: £_______
  • Pensions: £_______ (remember pensions often pass outside your will via nomination)
  • Business interests: £_______
  • Other assets (jewelry, vehicles, collectibles): £_______

Your family:

  • Children from first marriage: Number _____, Ages _____
  • Your new spouse's financial situation: Independent income? Own property? Age? Health?
  • Your spouse's children: Number _____, Ages _____

Complexity factors:

  • Do you own a business or partnership interest?
  • Do you have international assets or property outside the UK?
  • Is your estate over £325,000 (inheritance tax threshold)?
  • Do you have disabled beneficiaries requiring special provisions?
  • Have there been previous family disputes or litigation?

Decision guide:

Estate under £100,000 + simple family situation: Use WUHLD online will (£99.99) with clear allocation stating exactly who gets what. Life interest trust may not be necessary for smaller estates.

Estate £100,000-£500,000 + second marriage + children from first marriage: Life interest trust strongly recommended. WUHLD can handle straightforward provisions (£99.99), or consult solicitor for complex trust drafting (£650-£1,500).

Estate over £500,000 OR complex assets: Professional solicitor essential. Complex estates require sophisticated planning (£650-£1,500+ depending on complexity).

Step 2: Have the Conversation

You cannot protect your children in secret. Your spouse will discover your will after you die. Having the conversation now prevents hurt, anger, and potential litigation later.

With your new spouse:

Frame this as fairness to everyone, not lack of trust:

"I want to make sure you're provided for if I die first—you'll never be homeless or struggling financially. I also want to ensure my children inherit what I've set aside for them from their mother/father and my lifetime of work. A life interest trust achieves both goals. Can we discuss what you'd need to live comfortably?"

Most reasonable people understand this logic. You're not excluding your spouse—you're including everyone fairly.

Warning signs: If your spouse becomes hostile, refuses to discuss it, or demands you leave them everything with no protections for your children, that's a serious red flag. You need legal protections even more urgently. Consider whether someone who won't accept basic fairness to your children should inherit your estate.

With your children:

Explain your plan so they understand they're protected:

"I'm marrying [spouse name], and I want you to know I've made arrangements to ensure you inherit from me as I intended. I've created a will with provisions that guarantee you receive [property/amount] regardless of what happens in the future. [Spouse name] will be provided for, but your inheritance is protected."

This prevents your children from worrying in silence, reduces future conflict with your spouse, and gives everyone certainty.

Step 3: Choose Your Method

For straightforward situations:

Use WUHLD to create your legally binding will online for £99.99. The platform guides you through:

  • Naming your executors (the people who'll administer your estate)
  • Specifying who inherits what (you can include life interest provisions in clear language)
  • Appointing guardians if you have minor children
  • Including specific gifts or charitable donations

You can preview your entire will free before paying anything. The process takes 15 minutes versus weeks of solicitor appointments.

You'll receive:

  • Your complete, legally binding will
  • A 12-page Testator Guide explaining how to execute your will properly
  • A Witness Guide to give your witnesses
  • A Complete Asset Inventory document

For complex situations requiring solicitor involvement:

Engage a specialist wills and trusts solicitor if you have:

  • Estate over £500,000
  • Business ownership or partnership interests
  • International property or assets
  • Significant inheritance tax planning requirements
  • Disabled beneficiaries requiring discretionary trusts
  • Agricultural or business property relief considerations
  • Previous litigation or family disputes
  • Multiple properties or complex asset structures

Solicitor costs: £650-£1,500+ depending on complexity. This is expensive, but it's appropriate for estates where small drafting errors could cost tens or hundreds of thousands in tax or litigation.

Step 4: Appoint the Right Trustees

If you're using a life interest trust, trustees will manage it after your death. Choose carefully:

Option 1: Your adult children from first marriage

  • Pros: Motivated to protect their inheritance, no fees
  • Cons: May create conflict with spouse, perceived lack of impartiality

Option 2: Professional trustee (solicitor, bank) + family member

  • Pros: Neutral, experienced, reduces conflict
  • Cons: Annual fees (£500-£2,000/year), less personal connection

Option 3: Trusted friend or family member who's impartial

  • Pros: No fees, knows family, trusted by everyone
  • Cons: May lack legal/financial expertise, could become incapacitated

Option 4: Combination (two children + one professional)

  • Pros: Balances family involvement with professional expertise
  • Cons: More complex decision-making, must agree on actions

Appoint 2-4 trustees. Too few creates risk if one becomes incapacitated or acts improperly. Too many creates deadlock where decisions become impossible.

Step 5: Review and Update Regularly

Life changes. Your will should change with it.

Review your will after:

  • Remarriage (immediately—your old will is now void)
  • Birth or adoption of grandchildren
  • Significant asset changes (buying/selling property, business sale, inheritance)
  • Moving house or relocating
  • Divorce of your spouse (very relevant if your spouse is your beneficiary)
  • Death of your spouse (you need a new will immediately)
  • Death of a beneficiary or executor
  • Significant changes in UK tax law

Recommended review schedule: Every 3-5 years minimum, even if nothing major has changed.

Storage: Keep the original will in a safe, dry place. Tell your executors and family where it is. Do not keep it in a safety deposit box that becomes inaccessible after your death.

Communication: Make sure your family knows a will exists and understands the general structure (not necessarily every detail).

Step 6: Consider Complementary Protections

A will is essential but not sufficient. Consider:

Prenuptial agreement (if not yet married): Addresses what happens to assets on divorce—your will handles death, a prenup handles divorce. Together they provide comprehensive protection.

Lasting Power of Attorney: Protects if you lose mental capacity before death. Appoint someone to make financial and health decisions for you. This prevents your spouse (who may have conflicting interests) from making all decisions alone.

Life insurance: Provides immediate cash to your spouse or children without waiting for probate. Can be written in trust to keep proceeds outside your estate for inheritance tax purposes.

Pension nomination: Pensions usually pass outside your will via "expression of wish" or nomination form. Make sure you've nominated beneficiaries for all pensions—don't leave this to default rules.

Timeline for Implementation

Today (30 minutes): Complete the assessment worksheet above. Know your estate value, family structure, and complexity level.

This week (1-2 hours): Have conversations with your spouse and children. Explain your intentions and listen to their concerns.

This month: Create your protective will. With WUHLD, this takes 15 minutes online and costs £99.99. With a solicitor, allow 2-4 weeks for appointments, drafting, and review, costing £650-£1,500+.

Ongoing: Review every 3-5 years or after major life changes.

Cost Breakdown

WUHLD online will: £99.99 total

  • Complete will with protective provisions
  • Testator Guide, Witness Guide, Asset Inventory
  • Preview free before paying
  • 15 minutes to complete

Solicitor will with life interest trust: £650-£1,500

  • Complex trust drafting
  • Tax planning advice
  • Includes consultation, drafting, review, execution guidance

Prenuptial agreement: £1,500-£3,000

  • Both parties need independent legal advice
  • Financial disclosure required
  • Takes 4-8 weeks to complete properly

Professional trustee annual fees: £500-£2,000/year (if you appoint a professional trustee for your life interest trust)

Lasting Power of Attorney: £82 registration per LPA (separate for property/financial affairs and health/welfare) plus solicitor fees if used for drafting (£150-£300 each)

Don't let cost paralyze you. A £99.99 will with basic protections is infinitely better than a £0 will that doesn't exist. Implement something now. You can upgrade to more sophisticated planning later if your situation requires it.

FAQs: Protecting Children's Inheritance in Second Marriages

Q: Does my existing will become invalid if I remarry?

A: Yes. Under Section 18 of the Wills Act 1837, marriage automatically revokes any existing will unless it was made in contemplation of that specific marriage. This means if you remarry without making a new will, you'll die intestate and your estate will be distributed according to intestacy rules, not your wishes.

Q: Can my new spouse change their will after I die and cut out my children?

A: Yes, absolutely. If you leave everything to your new spouse outright, they have complete freedom to change their will at any time. They could remarry, have more children, or simply decide to leave everything to their own family instead of yours. This is why protective trusts are essential in second marriages—they guarantee your children inherit regardless of what your spouse does later.

Q: What is a life interest trust and how does it protect my children?

A: A life interest trust allows your new spouse to benefit from an asset (like living in the family home) during their lifetime, while preserving the capital for your children. Your spouse can live in the property rent-free and receive any income from trust investments, but they cannot sell the property, mortgage it, or give it away. When they die or move out permanently, the asset passes to your children exactly as you specified in your will.

Q: Do my children from a first marriage have legal rights to my estate if I remarry?

A: Not automatically. Under intestacy rules, a surviving spouse receives the first £322,000 plus half the remainder if there are children. Your new spouse could inherit most or all of your estate, leaving little or nothing for your children. Children can make claims under the Inheritance Act 1975, but must prove they need financial maintenance—there's no guarantee they'll succeed, especially if they're employed adults.

Q: Is a prenuptial agreement legally binding for protecting inheritance in the UK?

A: Prenuptial agreements are not automatically legally binding in England and Wales, but courts give them significant weight if properly drafted. Since the Radmacher v Granatino case (2010), prenups are upheld unless it would be unfair to do so. They're increasingly used in second marriages, with 21% of UK marriages now including prenups. However, prenups primarily address divorce—you still need a protective will for inheritance.

Q: Can I just trust my new spouse to leave everything to my children in their will?

A: This is extremely risky and legally unenforceable. Verbal agreements or "gentleman's agreements" have no legal standing. Your spouse can change their will at any time for any reason without telling anyone. If they remarry, their new marriage automatically revokes their will. Relying on trust alone is the single biggest mistake people make in second marriages. You need legally binding protections.

Q: How much does it cost to set up protective trusts for a second marriage?

A: Setting up a comprehensive will with protective trusts through a solicitor typically costs £650-£1,500+ depending on complexity. However, WUHLD offers legally binding wills for £99.99 that can include basic protective provisions suitable for straightforward estates. For complex situations involving significant assets (over £500,000), business interests, or overseas property, professional legal advice is recommended despite the higher cost.

Conclusion

Key takeaways:

  • Marriage automatically revokes your existing will under Section 18 of the Wills Act 1837—you MUST make a new will after remarrying
  • Intestacy rules give your spouse the first £322,000 plus half the remainder—your children may inherit far less than you intend
  • Life interest trusts are the gold standard for second marriages: your spouse is provided for, but your children's inheritance is guaranteed
  • Verbal agreements and "gentleman's promises" have zero legal force—your spouse can change their mind at any time, and often do
  • Act now, not later: create your protective will this week, before circumstances change

You love your new spouse. You love your children. You want to be fair to everyone.

The only way to ensure that happens is to put legal protections in place now, while you're able to. Every week you delay is another week your children's inheritance is at risk.

This isn't about distrust—it's about certainty and peace of mind for everyone you love.

Create your legally binding will with protective provisions for your children today. With WUHLD, it takes just 15 minutes online.

For £99.99 (vs £650+ for a solicitor), you'll get:

  • Your complete, legally binding will with clear provisions for second marriages
  • A 12-page Testator Guide
  • A Witness Guide
  • A Complete Asset Inventory document

You can preview your entire will free before paying anything.

Preview Your Will Free – No Payment Required

Legal Disclaimer:

This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. WUHLD is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Laws and guidance change and their application depends on your circumstances. For advice about your situation, consult a qualified solicitor or regulated professional. Unless stated otherwise, information relates to England and Wales.

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