Going through a divorce is an emotionally charged, challenging process. Amid the whirlwind of legal proceedings, contacting an estate planning attorney might not be at the top of your to-do list—but it should be.
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Establishing an estate plan is a critical part of safeguarding your assets and making sure they are passed on to the rightful heirs. However, when you have a complicated relationship or family dynamic, this process can be difficult to navigate. Fortunately, there are still ways to ensure that your wishes are respected and that your loved ones receive the assets you meant for them to have. Here’s what you need to know about estate planning when love and relationships within the family are complicated.
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Going through a divorce can be painful, overwhelming, and stressful. It's the end of one chapter and the start of another in your life. Although it might be the right decision, you're forced to confront various issues. For example, you and your ex must agree to the terms of the divorce, such as child support, alimony, and property division.
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If you’ve gone through a divorce or you are getting ready to file, it’s important to talk to your attorney about the impact it will have on your current estate plan.
It may surprise you to know that even if you get a divorce, your ex may still inherit your money and control your affairs if you don’t physically amend your documents.
Obviously you wouldn’t want your ex-spouse to be the executor of your will or beneficiary of your accounts. However, if that’s what your will or beneficiary designations direct, that’s what may legally happen.
If you have children, this is especially important to avoid your money going to a future step-parent.
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I have been watching an HBO show called Big Little Lies, which is a fantastic show, but also has some lessons on estate planning. [Spoilers!] In a recent situation this season, a character named Renata (on the left in the photo above) learns that her husband is in trouble for insider trading, and that because of the way they own their assets as a married couple in the state they live in (California), everything they have is at risk and they must declare bankruptcy and sell off everything that the bankruptcy trustee tells them to sell—their home, Renata’s wedding ring, everything. To make matters worse, Renata finds out at the bankruptcy hearing that her husband has been procuring sexual favors from the nanny and promising her additional compensation for her services. This is all a huge blow to Renata, who came from a poor background, worked for everything she built, and is now having everything taken away due to her husband’s actions.
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When you are facing divorce, estate planning is an important part of that. In a perfect world, a divorcing couple will be able to come to some agreements on guardians and other topics involving the kids. If not, parents should still create their own estate plans to reflect their wishes.
There are a myriad of estate planning goals a divorcing or divorced person might have: to name people you know and trust to make important decisions for you if you are not able to do so; to protect your assets from being lost to remarriage of either party; to protect your assets from being lost to creditors of your ex-spouse or other factors you have no control over; to name guardians in the event both ex-spouses are incapacitated or die; to ensure that if one parent dies or is incapacitated, that person’s family still has visitation with the children.
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