The legal status of stepchildren in your will
If you or your partner/ spouse have children from previous relationships please read our guide.
Unless you have legally adopted your step children, they have no automatic right to inherit under the laws of intestacy. The only way to ensure that they will be provided for in the event of your death is to name them as beneficiaries in your will.
If you or your partner have children from previous relationships please also read our guide on blended families and wills. Increasingly, families need to consider what is fair in different situations and, in particular, avoid the phenomenon of “sideways disinheritance“: when part of a blended family is accidentally removed from the family inheritance.
Using our online will writing service, you can determine exactly who you want your possessions to pass to in the event of your death. Without a valid last will and testament, your estate will be divided according to the laws of intestacy. It is in these circumstances that stepchildren can be left unprotected.
If you have stepchildren and wish for them to be provided for in the same way as your biological children, you must do so with a last will and testament. Without a will, they have less claim to your estate than, for example, an illegitimate child who can prove a blood relationship to you.
If your children or step-children are under 18 and you have not legally adopted them please also consider whether you/ your partner should be appointed as their legal guardian.