Estate Planning
Divorce means it’s time to change your estate plan.
A divorce changes your life, but it doesn’t automatically rewrite your estate plan. Leaving the old documents in place can hand your ex-spouse rights you never intended.
Estate plans are usually built during a marriage, naming a spouse as beneficiary, trustee, agent, and decision-maker. Divorce should undo those roles, but it doesn’t do so completely or automatically, which makes a deliberate update essential.
What to update
After a divorce, revisit
- Beneficiary designations, retirement accounts and life insurance pass by designation, which may still name your ex
- Your trust and will, remove or replace an ex-spouse as beneficiary and trustee
- Powers of attorney, you likely don’t want an ex-spouse controlling your finances if you’re incapacitated
- Healthcare directive, name a new agent for medical decisions
- Guardianship, revisit provisions for minor children
Don’t rely on automatic rules
State law revokes some provisions in favor of an ex-spouse on divorce, but the rules are incomplete and vary, and they generally don’t touch beneficiary designations on things like retirement accounts. Relying on them leaves dangerous gaps. A short update with counsel closes them. Tresp, Day & Associates helps clients refresh their estate plans after major life changes.
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Since 1992, Tresp, Day & Associates has structured asset protection for families and businesses nationwide. Request a consultation or call (858) 755-6672.
Common questions
Frequently asked
Does divorce automatically remove my ex-spouse from my estate plan?
Not completely. State law revokes some provisions favoring an ex-spouse, but the rules are incomplete and often don't affect beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance. To be safe, update your beneficiary designations, trust, will, powers of attorney, and healthcare directive after a divorce rather than relying on automatic rules.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship?
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different and the law changes; consult a qualified attorney about your circumstances.
This website is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different; please consult a qualified attorney about your specific circumstances.
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