By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney
Once you are married, you stay that way legally until a judge signs a divorce decree. If you are separated from your spouse but not divorced and then you die or become disabled, your estranged spouse may still have legal control over you and your estate. Worse, your estranged spouse may be legally entitled to receive your estate. The good news is that you can change this. Here are 3 things you should know about estate planning and divorce.
1. YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR ESTATE PLAN ANY TIME YOU WANT
The wonderful thing about estate planning is that it belongs to you. What this means is you have the ability at any time that you still have capacity to change your estate planning documents to be whatever you want them to be. Anytime an individual comes to us seeking help due to a separation or a divorce we always talk with our clients about their estate planning. Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in the emotions of the separation or divorce itself that you forget about your estate planning and how your estranged spouse fits into your plans.
So if you are separated or in the process of getting a divorce from your spouse, pull out all of your estate planning documents and look them over. It’s more than likely that your estranged spouse plays an important role in your estate planning. You have the ability to change this at any time.
2. YOU CAN PUT SAVINGS CLAUSES IN YOUR ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS
In addition to making changes in your estate plan another thing that you can do is put several savings clauses directly into your estate planning documents. A savings clause would simply be your stating in written language in your estate planning documents that if you become separated or divorced that your spouse no longer holds the appointments provided in your estate planning documents. This would remove your estranged spouse from holding a power of attorney over you or from being your personal representative if you were to die.
You can also state that your estranged spouse no longer is a beneficiary in your estate plan. These types of clauses are helpful but in the event of a separation or divorce we still counsel our clients to make changes to their estate planning documents so that these appointments and beneficiary distributions are clearly changed and no longer exist.
3. YOU SHOULD LOOK BEYOND YOUR ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS
The final thing that you should do is look beyond your own estate planning documents. What I mean by this is that you should look at and make changes to your life insurance, you should change the beneficiaries that are named on any of your retirement accounts, and you should make changes to the owners and beneficiaries listed on your bank accounts. Each of these items, while not a part of your estate plan, are a part of your overall planning. Most likely you have named your spouse in each of these documents. Just because you are no longer legally married does not mean that these designations automatically change. You have to physically change the names on these accounts to remove your estranged spouse.
If you are separated or divorced and have questions about what you should do with your estate planning, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Estate Planning questions and will help you solve your Idaho Estate Planning problems.
This website includes general information about legal issues and developments in the law. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and must not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You need to contact a lawyer for advice on specific legal issues.