Second marriages often involve children from prior relationships, existing assets, and more complex financial pictures. BC law has specific tools to protect what you've built.
<p>Entering a second marriage — particularly later in life, with children from a prior relationship and assets accumulated over decades — requires a different kind of legal preparation than a first marriage at 28. BC's <em>Family Law Act</em> applies the same default rules regardless of which marriage this is, and those defaults may not reflect what you actually want to happen if the relationship ends.</p>
<h2>What BC Law Does (and Doesn't) Protect Automatically</h2>
<p>The good news: property you owned before the relationship began is excluded from family property in BC. Your pre-relationship home, investment accounts, and business interests do not automatically become your new spouse's on separation.</p>
<p>The less straightforward news: the <em>growth</em> on excluded property during the marriage is shared equally. If your investment portfolio grew from $800,000 to $1.2 million during a ten-year second marriage, the $400,000 increase is family property. And if pre-relationship assets have been commingled with marital finances — added to a joint account, used to fund shared expenses, or contributed to a jointly-held asset — the protection may be partially or entirely lost.</p>
<h2>The Case for a Marriage Agreement</h2>
<p>For most people entering a second marriage with significant assets, a marriage agreement is the single most effective protective measure available. It can:</p>
<ul>
<li>Define precisely which assets are excluded and remain so regardless of how they are managed during the marriage</li>
<li>Confirm that growth on excluded property also remains excluded (the default in BC is that growth is shared)</li>
<li>Limit or waive spousal support, or set a formula for how it would be calculated</li>
<li>Address what happens to the family home if one spouse owned it before the marriage</li>
<li>Specify how debts from a prior relationship are treated</li>
</ul>
<p>The conversation about a marriage agreement, approached openly and early, is far less disruptive to a new relationship than most people fear. Most partners understand the practicality of it — particularly when both parties have assets and children to protect.</p>
<h2>Estate Planning and the Blended Family</h2>
<p>BC's <em>Wills, Estates and Succession Act</em> gives a surviving spouse the ability to challenge a will that doesn't make adequate provision for them — even in a second marriage, and even if the will leaves everything to children from a prior relationship. This "wills variation" claim is a real risk that estate planning must address.</p>
<p>Common approaches for blended families include:</p>
<h3>Mutual Wills with Trust Provisions</h3>
<p>Each spouse leaves their estate in trust for the surviving spouse (providing income and housing for life) with the capital passing to their respective children on the survivor's death. This balances the spouse's need for security with the children's ultimate inheritance.</p>
<h3>Alter Ego or Joint Partner Trusts</h3>
<p>Assets transferred into a trust during your lifetime pass directly to designated beneficiaries on death, bypassing the will entirely and reducing the exposure to a wills variation claim.</p>
<h3>Life Insurance</h3>
<p>A life insurance policy with named beneficiaries can provide for a surviving spouse without reducing the estate available to children from a prior relationship.</p>
<h2>Practical Steps Before a Second Marriage</h2>
<ol>
<li>Make a complete list of your assets and liabilities as they stand today</li>
<li>Update your will and beneficiary designations — many people don't realize that a second marriage can revoke a prior will in some circumstances</li>
<li>Have an open conversation with your intended spouse about financial expectations</li>
<li>Consult a family lawyer about a marriage agreement well before the wedding date</li>
<li>Review your estate plan with the same lawyer or an estate planning specialist to address blended family considerations</li>
</ol>
<p>Sea to Sky Law has 35 years of experience helping BC families navigate the legal complexity of second marriages and blended family situations. Whether you need a marriage agreement, an updated estate plan, or both, we are here to help you protect what you have built.</p>
No — pre-relationship property is excluded from family property in BC. But the growth on that property during the marriage is shared. And if you blend assets — adding a new spouse to a bank account or title — the protection can be lost. A marriage agreement makes the position clear and enforceable.
Not necessarily. A surviving spouse has potential claims under BC's wills variation law, which allows them to challenge a will that doesn't make adequate provision for them. This is particularly relevant in second marriages of longer duration. Careful estate planning — including trusts — can address both your spouse's needs and your children's inheritance.
If you own a home before the second marriage, the home itself is excluded from family property — but any increase in its value during the marriage is shared. If your new spouse moves in and contributes to the mortgage or renovations, the analysis becomes more complex. A marriage agreement can define exactly how the home is treated.
Generally no — debts incurred before the relationship, or for a spouse's own purposes, stay with that spouse; family debts are shared under the Family Law Act. But if you take on joint credit, co-sign a loan, or allow debts to be paid from joint funds, the position changes. A marriage agreement can explicitly state that each spouse remains responsible for their own pre-existing debts.