In some cases, a person may write their will and estate plan so that it leaves all of their assets directly to their spouse. Since the assets do not go to anyone else, this is often called an “I love you” will. It is designed just to demonstrate affection and show the person the level of care that the other had for them in life.
Often, this will happen with a second marriage. Someone may feel an extra compulsion to stress to a second spouse exactly how much they care about them, and they could leave all of their assets to this individual. But this can be a major risk that could cause estate disputes.
What will your other heirs think?
The problem with doing this with a blended family is that your biological heirs from your first marriage may not be pleased to see all of the assets go to a second spouse. They may not really have even had much of a relationship with this individual and may not consider them to be part of the family. This could happen if you got remarried after all of your children had grown up and gone to college, for example.
It can also cause problems if the second spouse has their own biological children. If all of the assets are left to that spouse, they could then leave them to only their biological children, cutting the original parent’s offspring out of the estate plan.
As you can see, this type of planning can get very complicated, so it’s important to understand all the options you have.