Here's an interesting article from a law firm : www.clarkewillmott.com/news/warning-for-blended-families/
Parents of “blended” families, particularly where children from previous relationships become stepsiblings, are being urged to make a will to avoid any disputes after their deaths.
The issue was brought into sharp focus this week following a judge’s ruling on a family’s estate – worth almost £300,000 – after John and Marjorie Scarle both died at their home.
The couple, who both had daughters from previous relationships, were found dead on October 11, 2016 with the cause of death being hypothermia.
As they were listed on the property as joint tenants, ownership automatically passed down to whoever survived.
However, because it was unclear who out of the couple had died first, the Law of Property Act 1925 was invoked, which states that the deaths “be presumed to have occurred in order of seniority, and accordingly the younger shall be deemed to have survived the elder”.
That meant John, being 10 years older than Marjorie, was presumed to have died first, meaning any joint assets would pass automatically to his wife.
And, because she had also died, those assets – a house worth £280,000 and a savings of £18,000 – were passed down to her daughter, Deborah Cutler.
Unsurprisingly John’s own daughter, Anna Winter, disputed this and launched legal action to try to claim what she believed to be her share of the inheritance, leading to a lengthy – and expensive – court case which she eventually lost, costing her hundreds of thousands in legal costs.
Commenting on the case which concluded this week Orlando Beckett, Chartered Legal Executive, said: “I don’t think there’s ever been a clearer example than the Scarle estate for the value of having a Will and the importance of quality advice that comes with it.
“As this was both an intestacy and a blended family, who died first was important. If Mr Scarle died first, the assets would pass by Survivorship to Mrs Scarle, who would then pass the assets by intestacy to her children.
“If Mrs Scarle died first, the opposite would occur. Either way, one side of the two families was due to lose out on the estate.
“In any event Judge Phillip Kramer ruled that he could not be sure who had died first and therefore the rule of Commorientes would apply resulting in the estate passing to Mrs Scarle’s family, as she was 10 years junior.
“It is hard to say what Mr and Mrs Scarle intended without any testamentary wishes left by either of them, however I think it’s safe to assume they would not have wanted their families to be put through a lengthy litigation, all of which could have been avoided by a simple Will.”
He added: “With all of our Wills meetings, we review the property ownership, which would have flagged the risk of this happening in the first place and provided advice in how to avoid this situation altogether.
“We would also flag any potential issues and claims that may arise by not passing assets to a child from a previous relationship, as well as the risks of your own children not receiving an inheritance if you pre-decease your partner.”