While you may enjoy the combination of bright city lights with rolling countryside in Tennessee, the effects of divorce extend beyond the proceedings. With 2020 approaching, you may be taking a new look at your life in general. Estate planning after a divorce lets you look at your future with clear eyes.
Forbes recommends you update the estate plan after you finalize your divorce. The estate planner will want to see your divorce agreement. This agreement outlines what is yours to keep and what is your now ex-spouse’s. It may also include your obligations to your ex should you or they pass before the other.
Look at the divorce agreement to see if you must maintain a life insurance policy with your ex as the beneficiary. Some agreements require it and others do not. While looking at your life insurance, look at the beneficiaries for all your accounts. Make sure they line up to what you agree and change the others to who you want them to receive the accounts upon your death.
If you made your ex-spouse the executor of the will, it is a good time to rethink that unless you are on excellent terms. This goes for any power of medical attorney, power of financial attorney and living wills. You may want to designate someone else for these roles.
If you had children with your ex-spouse, a revocable trust gives power over anything left to your minor children to someone of your choosing. Without this, the other parent maintains guardianship over the monies until the child reaches their majority.
This information is intended only to educate and should not be interpreted as legal advice.
