How does an Ontario court balance a support claim from a first-marriage child against a second spouse's needs?

There's no fixed priority. Both a child from an earlier marriage and a second, current spouse can each qualify as a "dependant" under Part V of the SLRA if the deceased was supporting them, or legally obligated to, immediately before death — and a court weighs both claims together against what the estate can actually provide. It looks at each claimant's own circumstances, including their needs, means, age, health, relationship with the deceased, and any other legal obligations owed to them, rather than treating one type of relationship as automatically outranking the other.

In practice, this often means dividing a limited estate among competing legitimate claims, which can be one of the harder calculations a court makes, especially in blended families where the estate isn't large enough to fully satisfy everyone. Neither a first-marriage child nor a second spouse is guaranteed automatic priority just because of their relationship to the deceased. Anyone in this situation — pursuing a claim or defending the estate against competing claims — should get legal advice early, since how each claim is presented and evidenced can materially affect the outcome.