Estate planning for a first-marriage family with shared children is, mechanically, fairly simple. Estate planning for a blended family — where one or both partners have children from earlier relationships — is one of the most consequential things a couple can do for the next generation, and one of the most commonly mishandled.
The default impulse — 'leave everything to my spouse, who will then leave everything to all of our children equally' — fails surprisingly often. Sometimes the surviving spouse remarries. Sometimes they update their will. Sometimes the estate is consumed by their later medical care. Sometimes a child from the earlier relationship simply receives nothing.
Why the standard approach breaks down
When the first partner dies and leaves everything to the second, the assets become the survivor's. The survivor can deal with those assets as they wish — including by making a new will, by gifting during their lifetime, or by allowing the assets to be consumed. There is no enforceable promise that the earlier deceased's children will eventually inherit anything.
Queensland's family provision laws (in Part 4 of the Succession Act 1981) add another layer: an 'eligible person' who has not been adequately provided for can apply to the court for further provision. In a blended family, the adult stepchild who receives nothing is a classic applicant — and the litigation almost always falls on the estate of the second-to-die.
Four structures that actually work
Life interest wills
The first-to-die's estate is held on trust. The surviving spouse has the right to use specified assets (commonly the home) for life or for a defined period, and on the survivor's death the underlying capital passes to the children of the first marriage. This preserves the surviving spouse's lifestyle while protecting the children's eventual inheritance.
Testamentary trusts
Each spouse leaves their share into a testamentary trust on death, with their respective children as the primary beneficiaries. The surviving spouse can be a beneficiary too, but cannot redirect the underlying capital. Testamentary trusts also offer significant asset protection and tax advantages for beneficiaries.
Mutual wills agreements
Both spouses sign a contractual agreement that neither will change their will after the first dies. The agreement binds the survivor's estate in equity. It is enforceable but can be cumbersome — and it is no substitute for a properly structured will when the relationship is short or assets are unequal.
Superannuation nominations
Superannuation does not automatically form part of an estate. The fund trustee decides who receives the death benefit, guided by any binding death benefit nomination. For blended families, a properly executed binding nomination (often directing benefits to the estate, so they can be distributed under the will) is essential. We have seen $1m+ super balances paid entirely to a new spouse over the deceased's children because the nomination had lapsed.
What we typically recommend
For most Queensland blended families, the right plan is some combination of: a life interest will over the family home, testamentary trusts for each spouse's separate assets, binding death benefit nominations on superannuation, and clear titling decisions (joint tenants vs tenants in common) for major assets.
When to revisit
- —Any significant change in assets (sale of business, inheritance, major property purchase)
- —Change in family circumstances — birth, death, separation, marriage of a beneficiary
- —Material change in superannuation balance or insurance
- —Every three to five years even if nothing obvious has changed
