Divorce is a life-changing event that necessitates a thorough review and likely update of your estate plan. As circumstances change, so too should your estate plan to ensure it still aligns with your new life situation. Here are a few crucial considerations for updating your estate plan post-divorce.
- Revise Your Will and Trust: After a divorce, it’s paramount to update your will or trust. You may want to remove your ex-spouse as a beneficiary or executor, unless your divorce decree requires some estate to be left to them. Review all designations and make appropriate changes to reflect your current wishes.
- Update Beneficiary Designations: Life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other financial instruments are not governed by your will or trust, but by beneficiary designations. Make sure to update these designations to remove your former spouse if desired.
- Rethink Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directives: If your ex-spouse was your designated agent in your durable power of attorney or healthcare directive, you should revise these documents. Appoint a trusted person who will act in your best interest should you become incapacitated.
- Protect Your Children’s Inheritance: If you have minor children, consider creating a trust to manage any assets they may inherit. You can appoint a trustee to manage the funds until your children reach an age you consider appropriate for inheritance.
- Consider Tax Implications: A divorce could change your tax situation. Make sure to understand any potential tax implications of your divorce on your estate, which may influence how you structure your estate plan.
Navigating through a divorce can be challenging, and the need to adjust your estate plan can add to the complexity. However, this step is crucial to ensure your assets and your wishes are protected. With careful planning, you can transition to this new chapter in your life with peace of mind, knowing that your estate plan reflects your current circumstances.
Contact us at 410-573-4818 to learn how to adjust your estate plan post-divorce.
Attorney/Owner at Sinclair Prosser Gasior
His personal experience with family and the problems that resulted from their failure to create an estate plan resulted in his desire to learn more about this area of the law. From his work in the Elder Law Clinic, he further realized the need to plan not only for death, but also for incapacity during their lifetime.
Latest posts by Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
- What is a Uniform Transfer to Minor Act Account? - August 23, 2023
- Estate Planning in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - July 24, 2023
- Have You Included These Things in Your Estate Plan? - June 27, 2023
