Protecting Your Whole Family: Making Provisions for Stepchildren

You might treat your children and stepchildren equally, but that doesn’t mean the law does. If you want to protect them after you’re gone, you need to know how. In this article, we’ll cover who is automatically included in your inheritance and who may be excluded, as well as the steps you can take to protect all your loved ones.

What inheritance rights do stepchildren have?

Unfortunately, stepchildren (and foster children) are not recognised as ‘blood relatives’ and therefore are not automatically in line to receive anything upon your death. This means that if you die intestate (without a valid will), then your stepchildren would effectively be cut off and not receive any assets or money, even if you had planned to leave them a portion of your estate. Writing down your intention to leave others assets, or openly discussing this intention, is not enough to satisfy the courts that this is what you wanted to do, and your stepchildren will be out of the running, with your estate passing to relatives (or the Crown) in line with the rules of intestacy.

If you have children and are married to someone they aren’t related to (i.e., your spouse is their step-parent), then they might also be at risk of missing out on your inheritance if you die intestate.

Example of having no Will:

Mr Pearson has two children, April and Sam, with his first wife. They divorce, and he marries Mrs Smith. Together, they have an estate valued at £300,000.

If Mrs Smith dies before Mr Pearson, then Mr Pearson will inherit her half of the estate. When Mr Pearson dies, the estate will then be split equally between April and Sam.

However, if Mr Pearson dies first, then the estate will pass to Mrs Smith, who has no blood relation to April or Sam. On Mrs Smith’s death, her estate will be passed to her relatives according to the rules of intestacy. April and Sam will inherit nothing, even if it was always Mr Pearson’s & Mrs Smith’s intention to leave them a portion of her estate.

What is intestacy?

Intestacy is the order of priority with which an individual’s estate is distributed after their death, beginning with spouses and ending with the Crown. The rules of intestacy were originally set out in the Administration of Estates Act of 1925, and although they were later updated to include half-siblings, they have not be updated to include step or foster children.

For England and Wales, the current intestacy rules (as of 2025) are as follows:

• Estates valued at or below £322,000 are passed entirely to the surviving spouse or civil partner (this is known as the Statutory Legacy)
• For estates valued above £322,000, the first £322,000 is passed to the surviving spouse or civil partner, and the remaining value is split equally between the spouse/civil partner and any children of the deceased
• Where there is no spouse or civil partner, the order of inheritance is children, parents, siblings, and so on, but if no relatives present themselves then the estate will pass entirely to the Crown

Can stepchildren make an inheritance claim?

Court cases involving inheritance disputes have become more and more frequent in recent years, which is partly due to the increasing number of co-habiting couples and blended families. Stepchildren who have found themselves without any inheritance, either because they were left out or because no valid will exists, can make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – also known as the Inheritance Act. However, there is no guarantee that the courts will grant them any inheritance unless certain criteria are met.

Inheritance Act claims

The Inheritance Act protects people who have been left without adequate financial provision in a will, or because no will has been provided. It applies only to cases in England and Wales, and can cover spouses and civil partners, former spouses and civil partners, co-habiting couples, children, stepchildren, and anyone who was being financially supported by the deceased.

Although most Inheritance Act claims are able to be resolved through mediation, cases that are taken to court are decided based on various factors such as the size and value of the estate, the financial resources of the claimant and other beneficiaries, and the financial needs of the claimant and other beneficiaries. There are no guarantees with these types of cases, but it’s important to understand that the goal of the courts is to make sure that everyone receives what they need, so if a stepchild was heavily reliant on the deceased for financial support, they are more likely to have a successful claim than a stepchild who is financially independent.

What options are there for stepchildren?

The most effective way to protect your stepchild when you’re gone is to arrange for a joint will with your partner. This would allow you to ringfence certain assets for your stepchildren. This way, your intention to include your stepchildren in your inheritance would be well documented and, more importantly, legally binding. Additionally, you could leave instructions for how you would like your children to be raised and by whom, as well as any specific bequeaths you might want for them.

If you’re interested in arranging a will, please get in touch to speak with one of our expert solicitors today. We offer 30mins free initial appointments.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Arrange your will today.

Contact MBH Solicitors in Wigan now:

📩 mbh@wigansolicitors.com
📞 01942 206060