The rise of blended families in Australia is reshaping inheritance planning and leading to an increase in will disputes. As the country faces the largest generational wealth transfer in its history, lawyers are already seeing a growing number of “disgruntled” children fighting for their inheritance after being left out of wills.
More than one-third of Australian families with children now fall outside the traditional nuclear family model. Around 12% of children live in blended families, where couples have children from previous relationships alongside their current children.
Alun Hill, National Practice Director at Armstrong Legal, explains that these changing family dynamics mean there are more potential beneficiaries to consider, which often leads to contested estates.
“With the rise in blended families, especially second and third marriages, it is increasingly common for the surviving spouse’s family to inherit the deceased partner’s assets, sometimes at the expense of children from the first marriage,” Hill said.
“In many cases, children from prior marriages find themselves excluded or receiving a disproportionately small inheritance compared to the surviving partner, leaving them with no choice but to challenge the estate legally.”
Hill warns that as blended families become more common, estate litigation is expected to rise significantly, with more children from previous relationships disputing their share of their parent’s estate.
The trend highlights the growing importance of careful and inclusive estate planning to avoid future conflicts and ensure fair distribution among all family members.
