Tuesday, December 3, 2019


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.


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