August 17, 2016

While no one plans ahead for a divorce when they get married, if your marriage does come to an end there are certain steps you should take in order to protect your individual interests and to ensure that your estate plan reflects your newly updated marital status. Although this process can feel overwhelming, you do need to consider everything.

Once your divorce decree has been issued and a judgement is rendered from a court, you need to revise and review all of the following estate planning and legal documents:

• Life insurance policies
• Will
• Powers of attorney
• Trusts
• Retirement accounts

If you don’t make these changes you could be exposing your other beneficiaries to a serious issue. If you were to suddenly pass away, for example, and your partner is still listed on your life insurance policy, he or she may receive all of the proceeds instead of your children or other beneficiaries. This is true even if your other estate planning documents explain that these proceeds should go to your children. While there are some situations in which you may want your ex-spouse to be your beneficiary, there are others where you would need to change this as soon as possible. Updating all of these documents immediately after a decision has been handed down is critical. Do not hesitate to set up a meeting with an estate planning attorney in New Jersey as soon as possible after you get divorced. A comprehensive review of your full situation can help to illuminate any potential issues and give you a framework from which to start.