After your divorce is finalized, you may be tempted to go on a hiatus from all things legal, but now is the time to get your estate plan in order. Your needs, goals, and priorities in life change post-divorce and your estate plans must reflect that. Here is a checklist to help you avoid unintended beneficiaries inheriting your estate and protect what matters most to you.
1. Update Beneficiary Designations. It is important that you review the beneficiaries on all life insurance policies, retirement accounts, payable on death accounts, and any other financial account with a named beneficiary. Remember, if your former spouse is designated as beneficiary, that ex-spouse will receive that benefit unless you change the designation.
2. Revise Your Will and Trust. Update Will and Trust to reflect that you are no longer married and revise your beneficiaries. It is important that your Will and Trust reflect your current desires with respect to your estate. If you fail to change your will, your ex-spouse could receive your property.
3. Provide Your Estate Planning Attorney With A Copy Of Your Marital Dissolution Agreement (MDA) And Final Divorce Decree. There may be provisions in your MDA that impact your estate plans in a way that you have not considered. Your estate attorney will know what to look for and can advise accordingly.
4. Update your Advance Directive For Health Care (also known as a Healthcare Power of Attorney). The advance directive allows another person, appointed by you, to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make such decisions for yourself. For example, if you are in a car accident that renders you unable to communicate, the advance directive grants your appointed person, or “agent”, the ability to speak with your health care provider and make the necessary medical decisions on your behalf.
5. Update your General Durable Power of Attorney. Similar to the Advance Directive For Health Care, the General Durable Power of Attorney (“GDPOA”) allows another person, appointed by you, to make decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so. However, the GDPOA is specifically for legal and financial matters. The person you appoint can use the GDPOA to pay your bills, speak with your financial advisors, enter any necessary contracts, open or close bank accounts, borrow money, sell, lease, and dispose of, property, both real and personal, etc.
6. Creation Of A Trust For Minor Children. If you and your ex-spouse have minor children, and share custody of the children, any money or inheritance your children receive upon your death, will be managed by your ex-spouse until the children reach the age of majority. If you are like the majority of divorcees, you do not want your ex-spouse controlling your children’s money. A trust is a great tool that allows you to appoint a trustee who is responsible for accessing and managing the money for your children’s benefit.
This is not a comprehensive list, but it is a great start. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online, and let us help you take charge of your future today.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice.
