What do Divorce and Estate Planning Have in Common?
Estate Planning After Divorce
Often the most under appreciated element of a divorce is
creating a new estate plan. In martial bliss there is the desire to share all
our earthly belongings with the ones we love. When bliss turns sour, the last
thing on our minds is to share our possessions, leave the family farm to our ex
or to have our ex make our financial or medical decisions for us. Unfortunately,
most people don’t bother to make changes to their estate plans after divorce.
Who Gets My Stuff?
Why does it matter? Changing your estate plan matters
because if your Will says, “all my possessions to my wife” or “All my
possessions to John Q. Husband”, that is who gets your goods, even if you
aren’t married any more. Likewise, a
Power of Attorney that says “My agent is Susie Q. Wife” means that that person
has been designated as your agent. If you don’t properly revoke the Power of Attorney, your ex will remain the agent and the Power of Attorney effective.
Named Trustee or Beneficiary
Believe it or not, I regularly see clients who have existing Wills and Powers of Attorneys that have their ex spouse as the Beneficiary or
the Agent. Had anything happened to them in the interim, their new spouse or
their children might have missed out on their rightful inheritance. Another
area of concern are Trusts. Many people create Trusts and after the attorney's
fee is paid, don’t give them a second
thought. It is important to remember that in a Trust, you name both a Trustee
and Beneficiaries. If you don’t change your Trust after you get divorced, your
ex spouse, who may have been a named Trustee or Beneficiary of your Trust, may be
able to not only benefit from the Trust as a Beneficiary, but may be able to
say where your property goes as the Trustee.
If you are seeking a divorce or are divorced and need to
change your estate plan, give us a call, (208) 472-2383 for your free
consultation. You will be glad you did.
