Once you make the final decision to proceed with the divorce process, it’s important to turn your attention to your estate plan. If you neglect to make the necessary changes soon enough, it could impact you and your loved ones in the future.
Here are some of the many ways to alter your estate plan after divorce:
- Update your health care proxy: You’re not likely to want your ex-spouse to make important medical decisions on your behalf, should the time come. Update your health care proxy to name a new agent.
- Update your will or trust: Unless you want to leave everything behind to your ex-spouse, update your will or trust with a new beneficiary or beneficiaries.
- Review your life insurance policies: There’s a good chance your ex-spouse is named as the beneficiary of your life insurance policies. If this is the case, make an immediate change. The law is the law, and if you leave your ex as your beneficiary, they’ll receive the death benefit upon your passing.
Along with the above changes, make a note to review your estate plan several months after your divorce is finalized. This will give you the opportunity to catch any mistakes and make any other changes to put your estate plan in a better place.
Estate planning is never easy, especially after you’ve gone through a divorce. Even so, you don’t want to put this off. Instead, conduct a thorough review, learn more about your legal rights and make any changes that will benefit you and your loved ones now and in the future.
