Everyone knows how confusing and emotionally exhausting divorce can be.
Between custody disputes, paying lawyer bills and dividing your assets, it can be a lot for anyone to handle.
Though the last thing you want to hear is the need to do even more work, the reality is that it’s important to take steps quickly after a divorce to update and draft a new estate plan. The following are some things to think about.
Draw up a new will
The first thing you should do after a divorce is to revoke your existing Minnesota will and quickly draw up a new one. The reason is that if you’re like most people, your existing will leaves everything to your former spouse. Though most state laws say that any mention of your former spouse in a will is automatically revoked, there is no reason to take the chance of leaving outdated provisions in your will; doing so only adds unnecessary confusion.
Rather than keep your spouse’s name in the will, it’s best to start fresh and draft an entirely new will, naming new beneficiaries. You also want to make sure to name a new executor, given that many people include their spouse as the default executor. In the same vein, you need to also think about who should serve as your personal representative for health care decisions, another role typically filled by a spouse.
Change your beneficiary designations
Beyond changing the will, it’s important that those going through a divorce make changes to other assets that are not inherited through the probate process, but instead pass automatically after death. These include things like life insurance policies, 401(k)s, certain bank accounts and IRAs. These kinds of assets pass directly to the person listed as your beneficiary and need to be changed quickly to reflect your newly single status. If not, it’s possible that your ex might collect large amounts of money after your death.
Guardianship issues after a Minnesota Divorce
If you’re divorced and have children it’s important to include a clause in your overall estate plan discussing your wishes regarding custody. Though it may be fine to leave custody of your children to your ex in the event of your death, in some cases this might not be a good decision. If your ex has been deemed unfit or may also be suffering from poor health, including a designation for who you would like to serve as guardian for your children is important. Though the designation may not be binding on a judge, it can go a long way in influencing a court’s ultimate decision.
Though it may be confusing, creating an effective estate plan does not have to be an overly complicated process.
An experienced Minnesota estate planning lawyer can help walk you through the process of establishing or updating a will or trust. For more information on estate planning in Minnesota, along with a variety of other topics, contact Joseph M. Flanders of Flanders Law Firm at (612) 424-0398.
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