After A Divorce: Ways To Change Your Estate
Getting divorced is a significant change in your life, and you have many things to think about. In addition to dealing with splitting assets and dealing with custody of the kids, you also need to think about your estate. Now that you are no longer married to your spouse, it is time to change your will. Not taking this step could result in some or all of your estate going to your former spouse, which is not something that you want. The following are ways to adjust your will after divorce:
Make Sure Your Old Will is Not Effective
Making a new will for your new circumstances is the best route to go, but you need to make sure your old will is no longer in effect. You will need to revoke the old will to prevent any misunderstandings as to which of your wills are to be utilized after your death.
To revoke your will, you can simply destroy the actual paper it is written on. This will not officially revoke it, however, because copies may be on file in other places. If there is no revocation in place and your old will resurfaces after your death, arguments could be made that it is still in play. This could result in some of your assets going to those you did not intend.
Make Changes to the Will
You can also make changes to your existing will. In some states, filing for divorce will automatically change to where your ex-spouse will not receive any property or assets that would have gone to that person. Instead, it will go to any contingents you have listed on your will. Although it is an automatic change in some states, it is still best to make the changes yourself. Change your beneficiaries so that you know for sure who will inherit your estate after your death.
Make Changes to Your Power of Attorney
If you made a will with your attorney while you were still married, chances are you named your now former spouse as your power of attorney. The person you name as power of attorney holds all of the decision-making power with regard to your finances and your estate.
In most states, this will also automatically change once you are divorced. However, it is best to change the power of attorney as soon as you are certain you will be getting a divorce. If your soon-to-be former spouse still holds that title, he or she will still have access to all of the financial information. Visit a site, like https://ivylawgroup.com, for more help.