When you remarry or bring stepchildren into a family, estate planning has an extra layer to it that a first marriage usually does not. Tennessee’s default inheritance laws were written with a simpler family structure in mind, and they do not automatically account for a spouse and children from an earlier relationship who both need to be provided for. This article walks through how those default rules work in Tennessee, why a basic will can sometimes produce a result you did not intend, and the planning tools that families in your situation commonly use to provide for a spouse while still preserving something for children from a prior marriage or relationship.
Why Blended Families Need a Different Approach
Most people in a blended family want two things at once: a spouse who is financially secure, and children, especially children from a previous marriage, who eventually receive an inheritance. Those two goals are not in conflict with each other, but achieving both usually takes more than a standard will. Left alone, Tennessee law tends to produce whichever outcome the statute defaults to, and that is not always the outcome a blended family would choose for itself. Putting a plan in writing now is what allows you, rather than a default statute, to decide how your spouse and your children are each provided for.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Tennessee
If you pass away without a valid will in Tennessee, state intestacy law determines who inherits your property. In general terms, your surviving spouse and your biological or legally adopted children share the estate under a formula set by statute. Stepchildren who were never legally adopted are not included in that formula and have no automatic right to inherit anything under intestacy law, regardless of how close your relationship with them was during your lifetime.
The exact share each person receives under intestacy depends on details like how many children you have and whether those children are also the children of your surviving spouse. Because the formula can work out differently from one family to the next, it is worth asking us to walk through how it would apply to your specific situation rather than relying on a general rule of thumb.
The Trouble with Leaving Everything Outright to Your Spouse
A common and understandable choice for many couples is a simple will leaving everything to the surviving spouse, trusting that the spouse will take care of the children when the time comes. The difficulty is that once those assets pass to the surviving spouse, they belong to that spouse outright. The surviving spouse is then free to write a new will, change beneficiaries, remarry, or otherwise decide who inherits their property, including property that originally came from you. A verbal understanding about taking care of the kids is not something a probate court can enforce. If you want to be certain that children from a prior marriage eventually receive an inheritance, that intention generally needs to be built into the structure of your plan, not left to a promise.
Tennessee’s Elective Share and Other Spousal Protections
Tennessee law also gives a surviving spouse the right to claim a portion of the estate even if the will provides for less, or nothing at all. This is known as the elective share. Generally speaking, the percentage a surviving spouse can claim is tied to the length of the marriage, with longer marriages allowing a larger claim. Because these percentages are set by statute and can be updated, we would rather confirm the current figures with you directly than print a number here that might be out of date. Ask us for this year’s figures when we talk.
Tennessee law also provides certain other protections for a surviving spouse, sometimes described as year’s support and a homestead allowance, which can entitle a spouse to additional assets or the right to remain in the family home for a period of time. These provisions exist to make sure a surviving spouse is not left without support, but they can also affect how much is ultimately available for children from a prior marriage. A written plan that anticipates these rights, rather than one that assumes they will not apply, tends to hold up better over time.
Why How You Title an Asset Matters as Much as Your Will
A will only controls property that passes through probate. Many common assets pass outside of probate entirely, based on how they are titled or who is named as a beneficiary, regardless of what your will says. A home owned jointly with a right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving joint owner. A bank account with a payable on death designation, a retirement account, and a life insurance policy all pass directly to whoever is named on the account, not to whoever is named in your will.
This means a beneficiary form you filled out years ago, one that might still name an ex-spouse or name only your current spouse, can override the intentions written in your will. Reviewing every account and policy periodically, and updating beneficiaries to reflect your current family, is one of the simplest and most overlooked steps in a blended family plan.
Trust Options Worth Discussing
Because a will only controls what happens through a single distribution at your death, many blended families use a trust instead of, or in addition to, a will. A revocable living trust lets you set out more specific instructions for how and when your property is distributed. It generally avoids the public probate process, which keeps your family’s financial affairs private, and it allows a successor trustee you choose to step in and manage your affairs if you become unable to do so yourself, without a court supervised guardianship.
Another option some blended families consider is a qualified terminable interest property trust, usually called a QTIP trust. In broad terms, a QTIP trust can provide your surviving spouse with income from the trust’s assets during their lifetime, while directing that whatever remains passes to your children after your spouse later passes away. This structure is often used when someone wants a spouse to be financially provided for without giving that spouse the ability to redirect the remaining assets to someone else. QTIP trusts also interact with federal estate and gift tax rules, and the exemption amounts under that law change from year to year, so if taxes are a concern for your estate, ask us for this year’s number rather than relying on a figure you may have seen elsewhere.
Other Tools That Can Help
A few other tools come up often in blended family planning.
- Prenuptial or postnuptial agreements. A spouse can agree in writing, before or during the marriage, to waive or limit their elective share rights. This is often paired with a trust or will that provides for the spouse in another way.
- Life insurance. Some families use a life insurance policy to provide directly for children from a prior marriage, while other assets such as the family home pass to the surviving spouse. This can reduce the pressure to sell or divide property later in order to treat everyone fairly.
- Choosing a neutral executor or trustee. Naming a spouse or one child as the sole person in charge of settling your estate can create tension with other family members, even when everyone involved has good intentions. A neutral trustee, whether that is another trusted family member, a friend, or a professional fiduciary, can help carry out your instructions without any appearance of favoritism.
A Practical Checklist to Get Started
If you are ready to begin, here are some concrete first steps:
- Make a list of everything you own, including how each asset is titled, individually, jointly, or with a named beneficiary.
- Pull together any divorce decrees or marital settlement agreements from prior marriages, since these sometimes include obligations that affect what you can do with your estate.
- Check the beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies to make sure they still reflect your current family.
- Talk with your spouse about your goals for both of you and for your respective children, so there are no surprises later.
- Meet with an attorney to put your plan in writing, since verbal understandings are not enforceable after you are gone.
We’re Here to Help
Blended family estate planning means balancing two sets of people you love, and there is rarely a single right answer, only the answer that fits your particular family. We serve clients across Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and for planning work like this we agree to a flat fee in writing before we begin, so you know the cost upfront. If you would like to talk through your situation, call us at (800) 355-1504 or request a free initial consultation. We are glad to help you think it through.