One of the top items that are often overlooked after a divorce are wills and estate planning documents. Sometimes, your estate planning may come up during the divorce, but is rarely revisited after a marriage ends. This is often due to the fact that a divorce can be a very emotional process. Details are often forgotten and arrangements that were made years ago can sometimes be forgotten as well. Here are three items you should revisit after your divorce:
1) Revoke Your Will
This should be one of the first steps taken after a divorce. Unless you are legally bonded to keeping specific items in your will, you should begin work on drafting a new one. A will defines who will take over any property you have after you pass, who may take care of your finances, children and more. Its best to revise this document after a divorce in case things have changed.
2) Update Life Insurance Policies
In most cases, wills and life insurances are created when a marriage is in good standing, and typically one spouse leaves all items to the other spouse. Now that you are divorced, you want to go back and update any life insurance policies to name a new beneficiary on your documents.
3) Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a right given to someone to have the authority to act as you. This is a major part of any estate planning. There should be two different powers of attorney defined in your estate planning process. The first should be a power of attorney that is designated for medical and healthcare reasons. The second should be specifically for financial matters.
Need help with your new estate plan? Harden Law can help you through all aspects of family law. From divorce to estate planning, wills and more. Contact us today to learn more about our estate planning process and how we can help you specifically.
