Estate Planning After Divorce

Estate Planning After DivorceDivorce represents a significant shift in your life. As a result, you need to examine and update your estate plan after a divorce thoroughly. Provisions that included your ex-spouse or in-laws could produce undesirable outcomes. For example, an ex-spouse left as a trustee on a joint trust that you established during your marriage might end up in control of your assets should you pass away. The lawyers at Webster & Garino understand the areas where estate planning in Indiana intersects with divorce. 

 

 Wills

 Your will might contain multiple provisions that include your ex-spouse or in-laws in various capacities. When updating your will, you could select a new personal representative or executor if your ex-spouse initially filled that role. 

 

 Powers of Attorney

 You might also have executed powers of attorney that granted your ex-spouse authority to make financial and medical decisions for you during a crisis. You will probably want to name new agents to be in charge of these aspects of your life. 

 

 Trust Issues

 Legal advice about estate planning in Indiana could alert you to problems within a revocable living trust or joint trust. You might want to replace an ex-spouse with a new trustee or remove an ex-spouse as the trust beneficiary. Additionally, you might want to create a trust for your minor children with a trustee other than your ex-spouse. Without a separate trust for your children in the event of your death, an ex-spouse who is also the children’s guardian will gain control of the money that you left your children while they remain under 18. 

 

 Guardianship

 After a divorce, parents of minor children might choose to alter previous guardianship assignments that named an in-law as a guardian. Some people also have concerns about their ex-spouses gaining guardianship of children, especially when a substance abuse problem makes them unfit. A lawyer might help you prepare for the possibility of challenging an ex-spouse’s guardianship of your children. 

 

 Beneficiary Designations

 Many financial accounts contain beneficiary designations or transfer on death clauses that reassign accounts automatically. Your ex-spouse will remain as the beneficiary on life insurance policies, investment accounts, or bank accounts unless you change it. 

 

 Contact Us for Help

 At Webster & Garino, you can consult our divorce attorneys to gain a big-picture about your financial rights and needs during and after a divorce. We can guide you through the process of settling a divorce and updating your estate plan. Contact us today.

DISCLAIMER/ATTORNEY MESSAGE:

The information contained in this website/webpage, including, but not limited to, written material, recorded material and/or video/visual material is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any matter.

The transmission and receipt of information on or through this website, in whole or in part, or communication with Webster & Garino LLC via the Internet or e-mail through this website does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship between us and any recipient. You should not send us confidential information in response to this website or webpage. Such responses will not create an attorney-client relationship, and whatever you disclose to us will not be privileged or confidential unless we agree to act as your legal counsel and you have signed an engagement letter with Webster & Garino LLC. The material on this website/webpage may not reflect the most current legal developments. The content and interpretation of the law addressed herein is subject to revision. We disclaim all liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on any and all of the contents of the website/webpage to the fullest extent provided by law. Do not act or refrain from acting based upon this educational information only without seeking your own professional legal counsel.