Recently we gave some advice to a lady whose father had passed away about 15 years ago, leaving everything to his second wife.
Instead of leaving everything to the 4 children and her own 2 children, as per the Wills they had done together, she left about $1 million to her daughter and $10k to one step daughter, and nothing to her son or 3 other step daughters.
The news was bad. No claim could be made.
It is possible to word Wills in such a way that the survivor is forbidden from altering their Will, but they are hard to enforce and there are ways around those Wills if you try hard enough.
For blended families, its best to hold assets as tenants in common and give life interests, and licences to occupy for life if you do not want the children by your first spouse to miss out.
If you found this article helpful, please consider providing a Google Review and/or like us on LinkedIn. For help and advice with Wills and Will Disputes, see Michael Paterson & Associates (08) 9443 5383 | www.patersons.com.au