Page 11 - ECF_Thrive-Sept-2025

Generosity
Education
Blending Legacies
Thoughtful estate planning can help blended families avoid conflict
By ECF Staff
Photo Cooper & O’Hara Photography
PLANNING YOUR ESTATE is always important
— but for blended families, it can be especially
complex. From balancing the needs of
children from previous relationships to
ensuring a new spouse is cared for, thoughtful
planning can help prevent conflict and
preserve harmony. We spoke with Colleen
Feehan, a wills and estates lawyer whose
practice focuses on planning, administration,
litigation and mediation, to explore how
blended families can navigate these sensitive
decisions with clarity and care.
Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF):
What considerations need to be made when it
comes to estate planning for blended families?
Colleen Feehan (CF): When considering
your legacy in the context of a blended family,
it is important to balance the financial needs
and expectations of current and former
partners, and children from past and present
relationships.
Consider the age, vulnerability and
personal relationship with each child. Children
who are under the age of 18, in post-secondary
education or who are adults unable to earn
a livelihood have statutory rights to support
from a parent’s estate.
A new spouse’s standard of living and
expectations should also be clearly addressed,
as spouses also have statutory rights to
support from the estate.
ECF: What are the legal requirements
for leaving assets to a spouse versus children?
CF: Legally, you can leave assets to anyone.
However, if your surviving spouse’s lifestyle is
drastically altered — especially without prior
agreement — there could be trouble. A spouse
has a right to seek support from the estate if
not adequately provided for, even if children
are named as beneficiaries.
To avoid conflict, spouses can enter
into cohabitation, prenuptial or postnuptial
agreements to clearly outline estate intentions.
These are typically upheld by courts after
death if that spouse changes their mind.
If you wish to leave assets to children from
a prior relationship, using tools such as life
insurance, RRSPs or TFSAs can be effective.
Naming the children as beneficiaries of these
accounts keeps these assets outside the estate
and reduces the chance of spousal claims.
Another option is a spousal trust, which
allows a spouse to benefit from investment
income during their lifetime while ensuring the
capital goes to your children after the death of
the surviving spouse.
ECF: How should couples handle the family
home in blended families?
CF: In blended families, giving a surviving
spouse a life interest in the family home
can help balance their housing needs with
preserving inheritance for children. This
arrangement, outlined in your will, allows your
spouse to live in the home — without owning
it — until they pass away or decide to move.
During that time, they’re usually responsible
for paying taxes and maintenance of the
home. Once they move or pass, the house
reverts back to the estate for the children to
inherit or manage.
ECF: What steps can prevent estate disputes
in blended families?
CF: While there are many legal avenues to
avoid conflict and tension in blended families
after death, open and honest discussions
about your estate plan while you are alive is
one of the best. When everyone understands
your wishes in advance, it is easier for them to
accept the outcome and maintain a healthy
relationship with one another.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Join Edmonton Community
Foundation’s Wills Week,
running October 6 to 10.
These free sessions — led
by volunteer estate lawyers
— cover wills, personal
directives and more.
Attend in person at venues
across the city or join online.
Full schedule at
ecf.ca/wills-week
ecf.ca
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