Navigating inheritance in a blended family

Suzanne Shaw recently talked about her personal experience with inheritance as part of a blended family.

After her father died, Suzanne’s brother inherited her father’s business, but everything else went to her step mum. Suzanne said that the inheritance from her father should have been split equally between his children and their step mum but it all went to her. Since then, her step mum has remarried and Suzanne has seen nothing of her father’s inheritance.

Asked how it made her feel, she proclaimed “It’s like a slap in the face. It’s like you weren’t valued in that set up”.

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It’s now estimated that 1 in 3 families in the UK are a blended family, meaning experiences like Suzanne’s will become more popular in the coming years as inheritance passes through these households.

Navigating money and grief is difficult. Add blended family dynamics into the mix and it becomes a lot more complex. However, with some careful forward planning, you can ensure your children are protected.

Here’s 5 tips to get started

1. Identify and Clearly Define All Family Relationships

2. Decide How Assets Will Be Divided

3. Appoint a Trustworthy Executor or Trustee

4. Create a Trust if Appropriate

5. Review and Update Regularly

You can create your will online, over the phone or in person with Octopus Legacy *

A Financielle Community member took out a life insurance policy for her child after getting married to her new partner. She wanted to make sure that her son was protected financially in the future should her new partner remarry.

“From experience I have seen the heartache and the fallout when people pass away and blended families are left to split inheritance. I don’t want my son to be forgotten about should my new partner remarry if I die. I just wanted to sleep at night knowing my son will be taken care of no matter what”.

Taking out a life insurance policy and naming your child as the direct beneficiary can be a great way to protect your child’s financial future.

Head to https://capital-sprint.live/protection/%3C/u%3E%3C/a%3E to speak with our friends at Lifesearch *

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