Herndon, Virginia · Wills & Estate Planning
Blended-family planning means writing an estate plan that cares for your current spouse and your children from any relationship, so no one you love is accidentally left out. In Virginia, the default rules rarely fit a blended family, and doing nothing can quietly set the people you care about against each other. In Herndon, a thoughtful plan lets you provide for your spouse and protect your children at the same time, which is what most parents in this situation want.
By Alisa Chunephisal, Esq. · Founding Partner, NOVA Legal Professionals
This article is one part of our larger estate planning guide. For the full picture, start with our cornerstone, Wills and Estate Planning in Virginia. Here, I will focus on blended-family planning and how to take care of everyone you love.
Love is not the question, clarity is
If you are in a blended family, you already carry a quiet worry: how do I take care of my spouse without shortchanging my children, or take care of my children without making my spouse feel like an outsider? That worry is a sign of how much you love all of them. The good news is that this is a planning problem, not a loyalty test. With the right documents, you do not have to choose. You can provide for your spouse and protect your children, on purpose, with no one left guessing where they stood with you. You can read more on our blended-family planning page.
What Virginia’s default rules actually do
If you have no will, Virginia’s intestacy rules step in, and they are blunt about blended families. When you have a child who is not also your current spouse’s child, your spouse receives only one-third of your estate and all of your children share the other two-thirds. That can leave a long-married spouse with far less than you intended, or hand a large share to children before they are ready, all without anyone choosing it. The default is not cruel, it is just rigid, and it almost never matches what a blended family actually wants.
You cannot fully disinherit a spouse
This surprises people, and it cuts both ways, so it is worth knowing. In Virginia, a surviving spouse has a right to claim an elective share, up to half of the marital-property portion of your augmented estate, depending on how long you were married. That means you cannot simply leave everything to your children and nothing to your spouse, because your spouse can elect against the will. It also means your spouse has that same right against you. Planning openly, rather than trying to cut someone out, is what keeps this from becoming a fight.
The Accidental Disinheritance
Here is the trap that catches loving couples. You leave everything to your spouse, trusting they will pass it to your children later. But once it is theirs, they are free to spend it, remarry, or leave it to their own children instead, and your kids may receive nothing. No one meant for that to happen. It is not about distrust. It is about what the law allows once assets change hands. A trust is usually how families solve this kindly.
Planning for a blended family in Herndon?
Tell me about everyone you want to take care of, and we will build a plan that leaves no one out. The first conversation is easy and there is no pressure.
Tools that let you care for everyone
The most common solution is gentle and effective: a trust that supports your spouse for the rest of their life, and then passes what remains to your children. Your spouse is provided for, your children are protected, and neither outcome depends on hope. We can also use clear shares, beneficiary designations, and life insurance to balance things, for example leaving the house to your spouse and an insurance policy to your children. The point is to design it on purpose, so each person you love receives what you intend.
Stepchildren are not automatic heirs
This is an important and tender one. Under Virginia law, stepchildren you love but never legally adopted do not inherit from you automatically. If you want a stepchild to receive something, you have to name them in your plan, in plain language. The same is true in reverse for a child whose stepparent wants to provide for them. Leaving it unsaid does not protect anyone, it just risks a painful surprise. Naming the people you consider family, by name, is how you make sure your plan reflects your real heart.
How we help in Herndon
We sit down with you and map out everyone you want to provide for, the current spouse, your children, your stepchildren, anyone who matters to you, and then we build a plan that takes care of them on purpose. We use trusts and clear designations so no one is accidentally left out and no one is set against anyone else. We do this work with real care for the feelings involved. We serve families across Herndon and the Worldgate and Elden Street area. You can read more on our blended-family planning page.
“In a blended family, a good plan is an act of love. It tells each person exactly where they stood with you, in writing.”
Alisa Chunephisal, Esq. · Founding Partner
Alisa’s Honest Counsel
Decide on purpose how to provide for your spouse and your children, because Virginia’s default rules and an all-to-the-spouse plan both tend to leave someone out. Use a trust if you want to care for your spouse now and protect your children later, since that is the kind solution. And name your stepchildren explicitly if you want them included, because the law will not do it for you.
A blended-family plan made with intention lets you take care of everyone you love at once, which is almost always what these families are really hoping to do.
Authoritative References
Sources
- Code of Virginia, § 64.2-200. Virginia’s intestacy rules, under which a spouse takes one-third when the decedent has a child who is not also the spouse’s child.
- Code of Virginia, § 64.2-308.3. The surviving spouse’s right to an elective share, up to 50 percent of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate.
- Code of Virginia, § 64.2-308.4. Sets the augmented estate and the sliding scale by length of marriage used to compute the elective share.
- Code of Virginia, § 64.2-102. Treats adopted children as the decedent’s own, while stepchildren do not inherit unless adopted or named.
Virginia authority verified as of June 2026. Every estate plan turns on your own family and assets; confirm the current rules and what fits your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Virginia treat a blended family with no will?
Intestacy rules apply. If you have a child who is not also your spouse’s, your spouse receives only one-third and all your children share two-thirds, which rarely matches what blended families want.
Can I leave everything to my children and nothing to my spouse?
No. A Virginia surviving spouse can claim an elective share, up to half of the marital-property portion of your augmented estate, regardless of what your will says.
If I leave everything to my spouse, will my children still inherit?
Not necessarily. Once assets are your spouse’s, they can spend or redirect them, and your children may receive nothing. A trust can support your spouse for life and then pass the remainder to your children.
Do my stepchildren inherit from me automatically?
No. Stepchildren you never legally adopted do not inherit under Virginia’s default rules. If you want a stepchild to receive something, you must name them in your plan.
When You Are Ready
Let’s take care of everyone in your blended family in Herndon.
Tell me about everyone you want to take care of, and we will build a plan that leaves no one out. The first conversation is easy and there is no pressure.