You and your spouse have decided to go your separate ways. You’ve told your family and friends, hired an experienced Massachusetts divorce attorney and, last but not least, you have made it official on Facebook.
At first, it seems simple – you both want different things, you’ve grown apart, and the only thing you seem to agree on these days is that you don’t want to be together anymore. But, it’s not always that simple.
How Divorce Affects Estate Planning Process
Most people think that getting divorced when both parties want out of the marriage should be simple. But, even if you only disagree on one thing, like who gets the house or the dog, a divorce can turn into a long drawn-out fight.
In Massachusetts, a contested divorce can take up to fourteen months to finalize. But, life is extremely unpredictable and anything can happen in those fourteen months. For example, during this time, you could get into a serious car accident one day on your way home from work. This accident could leave you unable to make your own medical decisions.
If you are seriously hurt after the accident and on life support, guess you will have the legal right to make medical decisions on your behalf? Unless you have updated your medical records since your break up, that person is your soon to be ex-spouse, who is still legally married to you.
This is just one of the many reasons why you should update your estate planning documents as soon as your relationship status changes. These documents should include:
- A Health Care Directive – in case you get sick or injured and are unable to communicate your wishes
- A Power of Attorney – for your finances and legal decisions
- A Will and/or Trust – that legally dictates who will inherit what from your estate if you die.
A will or trust is especially important if you have children and don’t want your ex to be in charge of any money or insurance that you leave behind for them. With a will or a trust, you can put someone in charge who you do trust.
How Divorce Affects Estate Planning After a Divorce
So, your divorce is final and you are free at last. Maybe you have changed your name, address, and updated all of your important information. But, have you really updated everything?
Updating your estate planning documents could very well be the most important thing you do during and after a divorce. This is not the least because now that you are divorced and ready to move on with the rest of your life, you probably don’t want your ex to inherit from you if you die.
While you were married, your ex was probably the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, your retirement accounts, and maybe more. Have you made sure that you have removed your ex’s name from those accounts?
What’s more, now that you are single again, you may have a different support system. In other words, you may have completely different people who you rely on and trust in your everyday life. Think about who you trust to help you in an emergency. That’s the person you want to name in your estate planning documents instead of your ex.
You should update your basic estate planning documents so that the most important people in your support system can help you in emergencies, no matter what happens. With the proper estate planning documents in place and the right guidance, you can help keep your family and yourself out of court and conflict if anything happens to you.
Again, the basic estate planning documents you need to update or put in place after your divorce are:
- A Health Care Directive
- A Power of Attorney
- A Will or Trust
How Divorce Affects Estates Planning When Getting Remarried
Before getting married again after a divorce, consider a prenuptial agreement. You’ve already been through one divorce and a prenuptial agreement can give you peace of mind going into your new relationship, knowing that you have already worked out the important things
You can use a prenuptial agreement to protect any children you have from your previous relationship, to decide in advance who gets what if you divorce, and to be fair to the new love of your life.
Once you are married, you will need to update your estate planning documents and financial accounts to reflect your new life. For example, now that you are remarried, you may want your new spouse to inherit from you. But, if you don’t do anything, your new spouse and your children from the previous relationship may end up fighting over your estate after you die.
Also, if your new wife brings stepchildren into your life, who you want to provide for after your death, you will need to specifically include them in your estate planning documents or they may lose out. On the other hand, if you are not close to your stepchildren and you want to protect yourself and your property, you should plan ahead.
In addition to the prenuptial agreement, you need to update or put in place the following basic estate planning document when remarrying after a divorce:
- A Health Care Directive
- A Power of Attorney
- A Will or Trust
Haven’t you already had enough court and conflict with your divorce? That’s why it’s best to plan ahead before remarrying.
Contact an Experienced Massachusetts Estate Planning Attorney
In life, there is a lot we cannot control, even in our own relationships. But, you can always exercise some control by having the right estate planning documents in place and by working with an experienced Massachusetts estate planning attorney.
For more information on how a divorce can affect estate planning in Massachusetts, call The Law Offices of Richard Mucci at 781-729-3999 to arrange a no-cost, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Massachusetts estate planning attorney.