Estate Planning Tips For The Soon-To-Be Divorced

A good estate plan changes when you need it to, and if you’re getting a divorce, your estate plan needs to change. Several elements of your estate plan are entirely based on your marriage, so when that marriage ends you need to change your estate plan to reflect the new situation. Here are three tips you can use to update your estate plan if you’re soon-to-be divorced.

Tip 1: Update your Will
Both spouses can create a Will, but because each state gives a spouse a specific portion of the other’s estate when the other spouse dies, all Wills should take this spousal share into account when you create one. Now that you’re divorced, you’ll have to go back and change the Will because that spousal share no longer applies to your estate.

Tip 2: Update your beneficiaries
A lot of your property will likely pass outside of probate, meaning your Will won’t have an impact on it. You’ll probably need to review any insurance policies, retirement accounts, or transfer-on-death accounts and change the beneficiary name to someone other than your spouse.

Tip 3: Update your powers of attorney and advance directives
If you’ve created powers of attorney, a living Will, or medical directives of any kind, you’ll probably need to update them if you’ve named your spouse as your attorney-in-fact or your agent. You will have to select a new person who will be able to take on those responsibilities, and needless to say you’ll have to choose someone you can trust.

Experienced estate planning attorneys Greensboro NC of the Law Offices of Cheryl David offers estate planning and business planning resources to residents of Greensboro NC. To learn more about these free resources, please visit www.cheryldavid.com today.