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Divorce may mean it is time to update your estate plan

On Behalf of | Jun 14, 2024 | Estate Planning

There are many different reasons to update an estate plan. It could be the onset of an illness or a disease. It could be changes to your assets, such as selling a family business. There can also be changes to your family structure itself, such as the birth of grandchildren or the death of previous beneficiaries.

One thing to remember is that getting divorced may mean it’s time to review and update that estate plan. Your divorce is going to change your plan in a few significant ways.

Removing your spouse

First of all, you may need to remove your spouse from your estate plan. Remember that this means more than just taking them out of the will. You may also need to remove them from a life insurance beneficiary designation, for example, or you may want to remove them as the beneficiary on a payable-on-death (POD) account. Furthermore, you may need to remove them as your legal or medical power of attorney.

Changing family structures

After the divorce, things may continue to shift so the estate plan has to change. For example, say that you get married again. You now have a blended family with a new spouse and children from their previous marriage. How do you want to distribute your assets? How will your stepchildren be included? What can you do to limit estate disputes between your biological children and your stepchildren – or your new spouse?

As you can see, divorce may have a major impact on your future. While you go through this divorce process, be sure you know about all of the legal steps you should take, which may extend far beyond the divorce case itself.