Estate Planning for Blended Families in Kentucky
Blended families — where one or both spouses have children from previous relationships — face unique estate planning challenges. Without careful planning, Kentucky’s default inheritance laws can produce results that no one in the family intended. A surviving spouse may inadvertently disinherit stepchildren, or children from a first marriage may lose access to assets their parent intended them to receive.
The Problem with Relying on Kentucky’s Default Rules
If you die without a will in Kentucky, the intestacy statute at KRS 391.010 controls who inherits. For a married person with children, the surviving spouse receives the first $30,000 of personal property plus half the remaining estate. The children split the other half. But “children” under the statute means your biological or legally adopted children — not your stepchildren. If you want stepchildren to inherit, you must plan for it explicitly.
Even with a will, complications arise. A simple will that leaves everything to a surviving spouse may work for a first marriage, but in a blended family, it means the surviving spouse controls all the assets and may leave everything to their own children when they die — effectively cutting out the deceased spouse’s children entirely.
The Spousal Elective Share Problem
Kentucky gives a surviving spouse the right to renounce the will and instead claim a statutory share of the estate under KRS 392.080. This “elective share” entitles the surviving spouse to roughly one-third of the deceased spouse’s estate, plus a one-half interest in real property. In a blended family context, this means a spouse can override a will that was designed to provide for children from a prior marriage — even if the couple had agreed otherwise.
The most reliable way to address this is through a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement in which the surviving spouse waives the right of election. Under KRS 371.060, such waivers are enforceable if entered into voluntarily and with adequate disclosure.
Trust-Based Planning for Blended Families
A revocable living trust — or a testamentary trust created under a will — can provide for a surviving spouse during their lifetime while preserving the remaining assets for children from a prior marriage. A common approach is a Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust, which gives the surviving spouse income from the trust during their lifetime, but directs the remaining principal to the deceased spouse’s children after the surviving spouse dies.
This structure prevents the surviving spouse from diverting assets to their own children or a new partner, while still providing for their financial security. The trust terms can be tailored to the family’s specific needs — allowing discretionary distributions for health and maintenance, or granting the spouse the right to live in the family home.
Life Insurance as a Planning Tool
Life insurance can serve as an equalizer in blended family planning. If you want your spouse to remain financially secure but also want your children to receive a specific inheritance, naming your children as beneficiaries of a life insurance policy — outside of the estate — ensures they receive their share regardless of what happens to the other assets. This approach can reduce family conflict because the children’s inheritance does not depend on the surviving spouse’s decisions.
Updating Beneficiary Designations After Remarriage
One of the most common mistakes in blended family planning is failing to update beneficiary designations after remarriage. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and payable-on-death accounts pass according to their beneficiary designations — not according to your will. If your ex-spouse is still named as beneficiary on a 401(k) or IRA, they may receive those assets regardless of what your will says. Kentucky law provides some protections under KRS 394.094 for revocation upon divorce, but it does not cover all account types, and federal law (ERISA) may preempt state law for employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Having the Conversation
The most important step in blended family estate planning is an honest conversation between the spouses about their goals. Who do you want to provide for? What assets came into the marriage, and what was built together? Are there obligations from prior marriages, such as child support or divorce settlement agreements? A good estate plan for a blended family reflects these realities rather than pretending they do not exist.
If you are part of a blended family in Kentucky and need help structuring an estate plan that protects everyone’s interests, call Buckles Law Office at (859) 225-9540.
