Almost every part of your life is impacted by divorce. You could have fought over your possessions, your kids, and your rights for hours or even days during a protracted and bitter divorce. However, when the divorce is official, you may still position yourself for success.
Additionally, you must comprehend how divorce affects your estate strategy. You may rest easy knowing that your last wishes will be carried out and your loved ones will be protected by revising your documentation to reflect these changes.
Find out more about how your divorce will impact your estate plan by speaking with the top divorce lawyers near me.
What happens to your estate plan if you get a divorce decree?
A divorce decree’s finalization results in several legal modifications to your estate plan. It also cancels your ex-entitlement spouse’s to receive property from your last will, which is two important impacts.
Your ex-spouse will no longer automatically function as your representative (will). A divorce judgment won’t always resolve all the problems with an estate plan, though.
It is crucial to assess your whole estate plan to make sure that your assets are divided after your death following your intentions, presuming that most individuals want to set up their estates to reflect their divorce.
Where do I need to update documents?
As was said above, when a divorce order is issued, there are a few automatic adjustments that occur; nevertheless, these legislative provisions are typically insufficient to redesign the whole estate plan to take into account the new situation. As a result, following a divorce, you should be sure to check all of your estate plan agreements by sitting with a family lawyer.
Wills:
They will often still have to be changed following a divorce, even though a divorce judgment nullifies your ex-entitlement spouse’s to inherit property upon your death. According to Michigan law, if your will still identifies your ex-spouse as a devisee, the court will reassign those assets to an alternative beneficiary, or if there is no alternate, to the remaining assets of your estate, during the probate process.
This automatic adjustment may result in these assets going to a beneficiary you didn’t want, which might be problematic if, like many individuals, you were expecting to leave a sizable amount of your fortune to your spouse. Think about speaking with a lawyer to learn about the possible effects of your will.
Also keep in mind that if you leave behind small children, their surviving parent will often be named as the children’s legal guardian. If you are concerned that your ex-spouse will be the child’s primary carer, think about changing your will to add a guardian.
Trusts:
Be aware that revocable trusts are exempt from these regulations. Many people choose to handle their possessions through a living trust rather than by will. If your ex-spouse is listed as a beneficiary or trustee in your trust, make sure to update those trust paperwork if you no longer want them to do so.
If you and your spouse jointly arranged your estates, you have probably already talked about the trust throughout the divorce process. Work with a lawyer to explore your possibilities for changing or perhaps dissolving these trusts once the divorce is finalized because these sorts of trusts are typically revocable.
If my divorce is not finalized, is my estate plan valid?
Even if your divorce isn’t yet official, you may still be able to take certain precautions to safeguard yourself. You and your spouse are still legally married until the divorce decree is signed, therefore the divorce isn’t complete until then.
You cannot try to conceal assets from your spouse, but you may start to amend some of your estate planning documents, such as your living will, which specifies your wishes for medical treatment in the case of incapacitation.
Similarly, think about canceling or changing your power of attorney documents if you do not want your husband to be able to handle your finances or make legal decisions on your behalf while the divorce is underway. Additionally, you are free to modify your will whenever you choose, even before your divorce is legally finalized.
