What special will planning do I need if I have a blended family in Ontario?

Blended families — where one or both spouses bring children from prior relationships — face competing interests that a simple will does not address well. The core tension is providing for the surviving spouse while ensuring assets eventually pass to your own children, not solely to your new spouse's family.

A mutual will or a spousal trust is often used in blended family planning. A spousal trust, for example, leaves assets to a trust managed for the benefit of the surviving spouse during their lifetime, with the remainder passing to your children on the surviving spouse's death. This gives the spouse income and use of the assets without giving them absolute ownership, which helps ensure the assets eventually reach your children.

Important: your surviving spouse still has equalization rights under Ontario's Family Law Act, regardless of what your will says. A marriage contract, if you are remarrying, that addresses property division is worth considering alongside the will.

Common pitfalls include assuming an old will was swept aside by the wedding — marriage no longer revokes a prior will in Ontario (repealed in 2022), so it can stay in force without ever mentioning a new spouse or step-children. Another is blurring step-children with biological children in the will's language; name step-children explicitly if you intend to include them.