The plight of stepchildren

Non-traditional family structures can result in unfair estate outcomes

The same is not true for children claiming against the estate of a stepparent.

Stepchildren are only entitled to bring a claim against the estate of a stepparent in very limited circumstances – usually when they are financially dependent on their stepparent at the date of their death.

This can become a real problem when a parent dies, leaving everything to their spouse or partner, who is trusted to make provision in their own will for their stepchildren, but fails to do so.  Stepchildren are often left without a remedy, and this is an increasing source of perceived unfairness in a society where non-traditional family structures are becoming common.[1]

 How does the law respond?

When someone inherits all their partner’s property, but ultimately fails to provide for their partner’s children in their own will, those stepchildren typically must look for alternative ways to bring a claim against the estate of their stepparent, outside of the FPA. Commonly this includes two possible actions:

1.  Making a mutual wills claim

Where the parent and stepparent originally had wills which left everything to each other, and then after the death of the second, made provision for each of their families, it might be argued that the wills were intended to be binding and that the stepparent was not intended to be able to change their will later on to leave out their stepchildren. If successful, a mutual wills claim would bind the stepparent’s estate to make the promised provision for their stepchildren.

The difficulty is often found in showing that there was an agreement between the parent and stepparent that the wills would not be changed. This may have been assumed, but it is rarely spoken about or expressed in writing. It can also be difficult when the stepparent clearly did not feel that they were bound by such an agreement.

2.  Testamentary promise claims

Claims are sometimes brought under the Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949.  As the name suggests, these claims require some sort of promise to have been made.   The stepchild will need to show that:

• They rendered services to their stepparent
• Their stepparent promised to reward them for those services in their will
• The promise was motivated by the services, and
• The stepparent failed to keep their promise in their will.

Difficulties often arise in showing ‘qualifying services.’ Normal things that one might do for a close family member, such as helping in their older age, will not usually qualify. While some stepchildren have successfully argued that they abstained from making a claim against their parent’s estate, and that was a service to their stepparent, many children don’t ever seriously think about making such a claim, so it is hard to make that out as a ‘service.’

Promises are often vague, and New Zealanders do not always like to talk about money.  

Even where there are services, and a promise to reward, in many cases the promise is found to have been motivated by the close relationship rather than the services themselves.  

It can be very hard to make a successful testamentary promises claim.

Case example

In a 2015 case,[2] a child failed in several claims against his stepfather’s estate. The High Court said:

“While I have sympathy for the position Paul finds himself in, his personal claims against the estate appear to me to fall within the rock of the [Family Protection Act 1955] and the hard place of the [Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949].”

There are also a variety of claims available to stepchildren such as a constructive trust, estoppel or unjust enrichment. These generally make similar arguments, but often fail for the same reasons as in the Blumenthal case.

Stepchildren often miss out because they wanted to do the right thing when their parent died, and they made the unfortunate decision to trust their stepparent to do the right thing later.

Will this change?

The Law Commission identified the plight of stepchildren in its 2021 Succession Review Issues Paper, but it did not propose any new avenue for stepchildren to bring claims against the estate of a stepparent, simply because they have ‘missed out’ on their parent’s estate.[3]

Further, the law reform project has stalled, leaving things in a rather unsatisfactory position for stepchildren who are more and more commonly in this situation.

This situation for stepchildren highlights the continued importance of having proper estate planning arrangements in place – particularly for blended families. There can be a significant financial and emotional cost when these things are not discussed and addressed while both parents and stepparents are alive and capable.

[1] The Law Commission noted in 2021 that only 7% of children lived from birth to age 15 in households    containing only nuclear family members: Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission Review of     Succession Law: Rights to a person’s property on death (April 2021, Wellington, NZIPC 46) at [1.15].

[2] Blumenthal v Stewart [2015] NZHC 3187, affirmed on appeal.

[3] Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission Review of Succession Law: Rights to a person’s property on death (April 2021, Wellington, NZIPC 46) at [4.70].

Read the full issue here