what happens if my husband or wife remarries after I die?

If your husband or wife remarries after you die, their existing will is automatically cancelled by the new marriage. Unless they make a new one, the law decides who gets what, and the new spouse is first in line. Even if they do make a new will, they’re free to leave everything, including whatever came from you, to their new partner. The way to protect your children is to put your share into a trust in your own will, not to rely on your spouse doing the right thing later.

That last bit isn’t a criticism of anyone. Most people who remarry fully intend to look after their children. It’s just that life, and the law, get in the way.

why does remarrying cancel a will?

In England and Wales, getting married or entering a civil partnership revokes any will you made before. The only exception is a will written specifically in contemplation of that marriage, and most people don’t have one of those.

So picture this. Say Paul and Karen, from Retford, made wills leaving everything to each other and then to their three children. Karen dies. Paul inherits everything. Four years later, Paul marries Denise.

The day Paul marries, his will is gone. If he doesn’t make a new one, the intestacy rules kick in when he dies. Denise, as his wife, gets his personal belongings, a fixed sum set by law, and half of whatever’s left. The children share the other half. Depending on the size of the estate, that could leave the children with very little, or nothing at all.

what if my spouse makes a new will straight away?

That’s better, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Once everything has passed to Paul, it’s legally his. His new will can say whatever he likes.

He might split things fairly. He might leave the house to Denise “for now”, trusting her to pass it on. Denise might then make her own will leaving it to her own children. Karen’s share of the family home has quietly moved sideways into another family. I’ve written more about how that works in what is sideways disinheritance.

what if they don’t remarry but move in with someone?

Moving in with a new partner doesn’t cancel a will. But it can still cause problems. The new partner might have a claim against the estate if they’ve lived together for long enough or were financially dependent. The house might end up in joint names. The will might get changed.

The risk isn’t only marriage. It’s any new relationship where the money that was meant for your children gets mixed in.

so how do I protect my children?

You stop your share passing outright to your spouse in the first place. Instead, your will leaves your share of the house (and sometimes savings too) into a trust.

Go back to Paul and Karen. If Karen’s will had left her half of the house into a life interest trust, Paul could still live there for the rest of his life. He could sell up and move, and the trust would move with him. But Karen’s half would stay protected. When Paul died, it would go to their three children, whatever he’d done in the meantime, whoever he’d married.

For that to work, you usually need to own the house as tenants in common rather than joint tenants. Otherwise your half passes straight to your spouse outside your will. I’ll check how you own your home when I visit.

You can read how I set these up on my trusts page.

is this about not trusting my spouse?

No. It can feel awkward to bring up, and that’s fair. But a trust like this isn’t about suspicion. It’s about taking the pressure off the person left behind. They get a home for life. Your children get their inheritance. Nobody has to have a difficult conversation with a new partner twenty years from now.

Couples usually set this up for each other, both ways, so the children are protected whoever dies first.

If you’d like me to look at your wills, or you haven’t got round to making them yet, give me a call or book a home visit. I cover Worksop, Retford, Doncaster, Sheffield and everywhere in between.

This is general information, not legal advice for your situation. I’m not a solicitor — I’m a will writer, and I’ll tell you if you need one.