Second marriages are complicated - get advice on your finances

Do you have a family from more than one relationship? So how do you split your assets and take care of everyone if you die?

The answer is insurance, an appropriate trust, and a will. It's a bit more complicated than that but we can help you work out what you need for your family. FindOutFirst gives people the chance to find out more information BEFORE they talk to a financial adviser, insurance broker or lawyer.

My name is Glyn Lewis-Jones and for 30 years I’ve been involved in advising families on providing for the children & partners from both past and current relationships.

Contact us Contact us to arrange a phone call with Glyn to talk about your own situation – it’s free and there are no obligations or catches.

Save money and get peace of mind – call 0800 908 907

"Talking to Glyn was great. He explained how I can make sure all my kids are ok if something happens – particularly how I can use my family trust to make sure the money actually goes to the kids". – H. Andrews, Timaru

"Thanks to Glyn, I've now got the right insurance in place for my family and we've sorted our wills and trust". – K. Inglis, Dunedin

"I’ve recently remarried and my new wife and I were talking about redoing our wills. It became so complicated as we both have kids from our first marriages. I called FindOutFirst and got a whole lot of useful info – we’ve both now changed our life insurance and have set up a family trust and sorted our wills." – S. Atkinson, Auckland

More info

If you’ve had more than one relationship which has produced children then the question of how to split your assets in the event of your death can be fraught with challenges.

If your home goes to your current partner, what about your earlier children? How do you take care of the needs of your past family without it affecting your present family? How can you be fair - to all your children?

The solution depends on which stage of life the families are at. Very often, when you have a situation where your death leaves people in financial need then some sort of life policy is sure to be useful. Young children need your financial support so a short-term life insurance policy works well - one that only runs until they’re adults. A long-term policy would ensure there’s enough in your estate to benefit all your children. Life policies vary in size and cost so there will be a policy that’s affordable for you and that policy will always make a difference.

What you must be careful of is making sure your will and trusts are set up properly. This can be complicated and is often overlooked.

Taking out a life policy to create your family’s financial safety net and then using a trust to make sure that the insurance proceeds are used, properly, puts you in charge of your family’s future – no matter what life throws at you. But you must take advice – either call us or find a qualified adviser you trust.

Personal Stories

Names and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy.

How Graham made two wives happy.

When Graham & Mary got divorced their two children lived with Mary, and Graham paid regular maintenance, an arrangement they were both happy with. But a couple of years on, when Graham married Lily and they bought a house together, Mary started to worry, and so did Lily – Mary was concerned that, if Graham died, the maintenance would stop and she’d have to claim against his estate. And that’s exactly what was worrying Lily too – they were settling into the new home and were starting to plan a family and Lily didn’t want Graham’s ex-wife claiming a chunk of it. She wanted Graham to write his Will to ensure that she didn’t lose what she had built together with him, but basically there wasn’t enough money to go round.

The solution was using a life insurance policy to create the money. In fact we split it into two separate policies – both on Graham’s life – one for each family. And because Graham wanted to make sure that the money for his children went to them and not to Mary’s new partner we arranged a small trust to go with each policy which ensured the money went exactly where it was meant to. Each trust was flexible enough to be changed if his circumstances changed in the future. Every case is different of course but that’s what worked for Mary, for Graham and for Lily.

“He’d have to remarry, but…..?”

Peter’s a well-paid hospital doctor and, at the end of a meeting to discuss their insurance requirements, his wife Kate began talking about a problem that was worrying her. I had just got them to revise their wills, which had started her thinking about what would happen to their sons if she died unexpectedly. Peter might be a well-respected doctor at work but at home, Kate said, he was a liability. He couldn’t cook, didn’t know how to use the washing machine, was a very expensive shopper and really had no idea how to look after himself, let alone the boys. “If I died tomorrow”, Kate said, “he’d have to remarry pretty sharpish – and I don’t mind, honestly, I think it’s the best thing he could do. But what if his new wife didn’t really care about the boys welfare and just loved expensive shopping?” She was really quite worried at the thought. The solution was Peter took out a life policy on her life with the proceeds going to their two boys. I know this sounds unusual but for Kate it was the perfect solution.

Insuring a stuntman.

Actually stuntmen are relatively easy to insure because they are pretty fit and very, very careful. Usually their managers insure them but in Leo’s case it wasn’t his manager that wanted to take out the policy – it was his lawyer. Leo’s speciality was horse riding stunts and, wherever he was working, he’d be surrounded by eager fans. In the course of his career he’d had three children by three different women in different parts of the country. His lawyer said it was a nightmare trying to arrange his will in a way that was fair for all the kids, so he simply got Leo to take out a life policy in a trust which each of his children could claim on! I’ve only arranged one of these policies in 30 years but, in principle, it could work well for quite a few people I know but I’ve never had the nerve to suggest it!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why an insurance policy?

Death and serious illness can cause very serious financial problems as well as the obvious emotional ones. A life insurance policy is a safety net (made of money) designed to catch people’s loved ones when the unexpected happens.

What’s it all about?

By regularly putting aside a little now you can create a large lump sum of money which pays in the future (in the event of a serious illness or your death.) It’s insurance to cover a possible risk. Knowing your loved ones are well cared for, whatever else happens, is what it’s all about.

How does it work?

You take advice from an experienced adviser and, between you, you choose a suitable policy that works for you. Then you decide how to split this lump sum and your other assets, between partners & children, and set up a trust to ensure your wishes are followed.

What are the likely problems?

Discussions with previous partners and sometimes also the children can, on occasion, be less than enjoyable. That’s where an experienced adviser is so helpful because they give you an outside view.