What is a blended family?
A blended family is created when you and a partner form a new family unit and you have children from a previous relationship. This can create a range of legal and practical issues, such as:
• A child’s name and identity
• A new partner’s parental responsibility for a step-child
• Managing relationships with ex-partners
• An ex-partner’s time, care and upbringing of your child
• Legal status of a step-parent and the blended family unit
Creating a blended family requires time, effort and understanding to successfully navigate legal, emotional and practical issues such as: parental anxiety of a step-parent (particularly if they are an inexperienced parent), hostility from an ex-partner towards a new partner, reluctance from children to adjust or bond with a new partner and their children from a previous relationship.

How to acquire legal status as a step-parent?
In England, a step-parent does not automatically acquire parental responsibility for a step-child, even if they marry or enter into a civil partnership with the child’s biological parent. Parental responsibility includes making decisions about the child’s education, health and welfare.
A step-parent can acquire parental responsibility by:
• A parental responsibility agreement with the child’s biological parents.
• Adopting the child
• A child arrangements order from the court that states that the child lives with the step-parent.
• Becoming the child’s guardian in the event of the death of the child’s biological parents.
Each of these options has its own legal implications and consequences, and so it is important to seek expert legal advice before pursuing any of them.

How to plan inheritance in a blended family?
In blended families, inheritance requires careful thought and legal expertise. The default rules of intestacy, which apply when someone dies without a valid will, may not reflect your wishes or the needs of your blended family.
For example, if you die without a will and are married or in a civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner will inherit the first £270,000 of your estate, and half of the remaining estate. The other half will be divided equally between your children, including any step-children who you legally adopted. This may not be what you intended.
It is essential to make a will that clearly sets out how you want your estate to be distributed. You may also want to consider creating a trust, which can provide more flexibility and control over how your assets are managed and distributed, and can help to minimise inheritance tax and potential disputes.

Local Family Law Experts
Local solicitor Jasmine Wright, Partner at Alderson Law LLP, specialises in family law and explains ‘Family law is a broad area of practice that focuses on issues involving family relationships. In England, family law services are available to help with child arrangements, disputes in parental responsibility, and children’s services involvement. They can also provide assistance with adoption, advocacy, child abuse, domestic abuse, family mediation, financial settlements, and special guardianship.’.
Alderson Law LLP works across the North East from their offices in Morpeth, Blyth and Whitley Bay. Their family law specialists are Jasmine Wright, Mary Dargue and Julie Nicholson. They are a friendly professional team. Email them via the firm’s website www.aldersonlaw.co.uk or call Jasmine on 01670 519714.

How much do legal services cost?
A solicitor will be able to tell you either their hourly rate or give you a fixed price for a set piece of work. For example Alderson Law LLP’s fees are:
• A straightforward will usually costs around £2200 + vat
• Their hourly rate for family law work is from £233 - £2725 + vat per hour
• Legal Aid
• is available to help to cover your legal costs depending on the type of case and your personal circumstances

Protecting Your Blended Family
By seeking professional legal advice and planning ahead, you can ensure that your blended family is legally recognised and protected, and that your children’s best interests are safeguarded.

Call or email Morpeth 01670 519714, Blyth 01670 352293 and reception@aldersonlaw.co.uk

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