Get Ahead in Your Personal Injury Case

How To Separate Your Estate Plan Post-Divorce

28 July 2015 by Kenneth Pierce

After dealing with the life changing decision to divorce, visiting another lawyer who specializes in estate planning may be the last thing you feel like doing. However, once you decide to divorce, visiting an estate planner should be a top priority. The following is a checklist to help you separate your estate plan so that it reflects your new life.

Step 1: Legally split your assets

If you and your spouse have joint assets and haven't finalized the matter of who gets what, now is the time to meet with your divorce attorneys and formally split your property. Once you know exactly what you are walking away with in the divorce, you can properly update your will.

Step 2: Visit your estate planner or hire a lawyer that specializes in estate planning

If you have not made a will, now is the time to formally allocate your assets to the proper parties. If you should pass away before the divorce is finalized and you don't have a will, it is very likely that all of your possessions will automatically go to your ex who, in the eyes of the law, is still legally wedded to you. Even if you are young and healthy, don't take the risk of losing your estate by putting off visiting a lawyer, such as those at Jolein A. Harro, P.C.

Step 3: Discuss your plans with your former spouse

If the two of you are divorcing and have children, you may want to discuss what will be passed down to your offspring. If your spouse has not made a will, encourage them to do so at this time. Discuss what might happen if one of you remarries or if either of you has more children. Don't assume that everything will be going to your children now that the two of you have divorced. Your former spouse may want to leave some items that you assumed would be passed down to your mutual children, to people on his side of the family.

These are difficult conversations to have, but they can save both of you confusion and heartache down the line. If your divorce is amicable, you may want to sit down and discuss what your separate estates will look like now. If your divorce is being handled primarily through lawyers, be sure to communicate items that you would like to be passed down to your children if your former spouse is keeping these items in the divorce.

Share

Search