Including (and Leaving Out) Step Children in an Estate Plan

For many of us, step children are like our flesh and blood; it doesn’t matter what the biology is, our step-children are ours like any other person’s child. But the law doesn’t see it that way, when it comes to inheritances. That’s why, if you have step children, you may have to do some planning, and make some considerations, when planning for step children to inherit property.

You’ll Need a Will

The best advice may be to legally adopt step children, in which case they have pretty much all the rights that biological children would have. But let’s assume that the children aren’t legally adopted.

For your step children to inherit anything, you will have to leave them property in your will. Be very careful however—saying that you leave property to “your children,” would exclude step-children—the law would assume (correctly) that you have no biological children, and thus, the property could be left to distribution by intestate. Step children have no right to inherit anything under Florida’ intestate succession laws.

There are situations when a step child who is left out of a will, may still make a claim on the property in a deceased’s estate, if the children can prove that they were being supported by the deceased. But this would entail a challenged probate case, and the time and expenses that go with it.

Spousal Share

Step children also may face a problem if you pass away with a spouse. By law, a surviving spouse is entitled to receive at least the “Elective Share” of your estate, no matter what you say in your will or trust to the contrary. If you do want to leave assets to step children instead of a spouse, you need to consult counsel, accurately advise of your wishes and carefully navigate Florida Elective Share Statutes.

Omitting Step Children

Of course, sometimes the opposite happens: sometimes you want to avoid stepchildren from inheriting.

Imagine that you have your own biological children, but your new wife has children of her own. You may want your biological children, and not your step children, to inherit your property. That means leaving step children out of your will by carefully and expressly stating your precise wishes, even if it sounds harsh.

Also, remember, your spouse will inherit her elective share of your estate, and you likely could not stop her from giving her children (your step children) any part of what was left to her, to them.

Need help crafting an estate plan that does what you need it to do? Call the West Palm Beach and Boynton Beach estate planning lawyers, at the Law Offices of Larry E. Bray, Esq.