![\"\"](\"https:\/\/acctweb.com.au\/images\/FP-06-multigeneration-family-garden-walk-550.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe definition of children as dependants under superannuation law is not straightforward when dealing with blended families.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The definition of children as dependants under superannuation law is not straightforward when dealing with blended families.<\/p>\n
A leading superannuation lawyer has highlighted the broad range of circumstances covered in regards to the definition of children as dependants when formulating estate planning strategies.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren are a fascinating thing [when it comes to death benefits]. So your children are your children, that\u2019s usually quite clear, but children of your spouse are [also] your children,\u201d Cooper Grace Ward partner Scott Hay-Bartlem told attendees at the ASF Audits Technical Summit 2026 held in Adelaide last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow if you actually start playing out children of spouses, if you\u2019re separated from someone but not divorced, they\u2019re your spouse. If they\u2019ve then got a new partner they are their spouse and so your step-stepchildren can actually be your children,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it starts spinning out this whole children of spouses\u2019 spouses [scenario and] one of my [recommendations] to people is once you\u2019ve separated from someone divorce them because the spin on effect can be quite frightening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hay-Bartlem pointed out situations involving stepchildren need to be approached carefully due to the changing nature of their status for superannuation law purposes.<\/p>\n
To this end he recognised if an individual has a stepchild as the result of a new spousal relationship this association ends upon the death of the biological parent of the child.<\/p>\n
Given this treatment he warned the inclusion of stepchildren as dependants for estate planning purposes are very complex and require a high level of attention from practitioners.<\/p>\n
For example, he said, the action of a stepfather or mother to include a stepchild as a dependant in their SMSF estate plan will no longer be valid if the biological parent passes away first.<\/p>\n
However, he acknowledged recent decisions handed down by the Super Complaints Tribunal and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority has made this situation more intricate because the rulings stipulated stepchildren remain children even after the biological parent has died.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
By: Darin Tyson-Chan | 23 September 2026 | smsfadviser.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The definition of children as dependants under superannuation law is not straightforward when dealing with blended families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2553"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2555,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2553\/revisions\/2555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}