Riverside Divorce Attorneys Provide Estate Planning Update Advice
At Cullen Family Law Group, we understand the challenges that divorcing spouses face, especially when it comes to the critical task of updating estate plans before the divorce is finalized. Our firm’s legal team, led by attorneys Heather Cullen and Alexandria Jaquay, who are California board-certified family law specialists, will guide you through each step you should take during a divorce. They can provide you with a comprehensive list of items to update in your estate plan, ensuring your interests are protected.
How To Ensure Your Estate Plan Is Future-Proof After Divorce
Failure to update your estate plan during a divorce can lead to unintended consequences. It is crucial to address changes in your marital status promptly to reflect your current wishes and circumstances.
Most of the major updates to your estate plan after a divorce fall into three categories: will and trust documents, beneficiary selections, and paperwork related to powers of attorney and living wills, which are also known as advance health care directives.
Will And Trust Documents
Your will and any trust documents should be top priorities. While California law removes ex-spouses from the list of legal heirs when a divorce becomes final, you will need to update who you name as an executor to your will and trustees for your revocable trust to ensure that your wishes are carried out according to your present wishes. (The terms of irrevocable trusts are typically unchanged by divorce.) We can help you understand the necessary revisions to all your planning documents and implement them effectively.
Beneficiary Selections
Another essential step is to review and update your beneficiary designations on accounts such as life insurance policies, retirement accounts, investment accounts and bank accounts. Federal law, especially for retirement accounts governed by ERISA, does not have an automatic process for removing your former spouse as a beneficiary. Since California is a community property state, you’ll need to review life insurance and other accounts that were established after the start of the marriage. Your attorney can assist you in updating your beneficiary selections and guide you through the best process for retaining your ex as a beneficiary on an account if it is desired under the terms of your divorce settlement.
Powers Of Attorney And Living Will/Advance Health Care Directives
It’s also vital to update your powers of attorney and living will. As with your last will and testament, powers of attorney and advance health care directives naming your spouse in a position of power are invalidated once the divorce is finalized. However, without a new document, if you become incapacitated, the question of who should make decisions on your behalf is open to dispute.
At Cullen Family Law Group, our attorneys can assist you in reassigning these roles to someone aligned with your current situation.
Turn To Our Firm For Estate Plan Divorce Advice
At our firm, we are committed to providing fast, fair and thorough legal assistance. To learn more about how we can help you update your estate plan as part of the divorce process, call us at 951-715-4632 to make an initial appointment. You can also use our online email form. With offices in Riverside and Temecula, we serve clients throughout Southern California.