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Don't Let a Divorce Derail Your Estate Plan

Nashville Blog 2017 July Don't Let a Divorce Derail Your Estate Plan
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Don't Let a Divorce Derail Your Estate Plan

Posted By David Whittaker, Attorney at Law || 17-Jul-2017

Even for those couples who manage to have an amicable divorce, it is not easy. When a couple has been married for decades, it can be particularly difficult when it comes to life insurance, retirement plans, and estate plans.

When Baby Boomers decide to divorce, it can be hard to divide retirement assets, and when the divorcing couple has children together, or even grandchildren, they will most likely need to completely revise their estate plan, individually and separately.

Are you on the edge of divorce? If so, don’t make the mistake of “giving it all to your spouse” to make things easier. Even if you have guilt, or if a misdeed on your part led to the breakdown of the marriage, you still don’t want to walk away without your fair share because that can be detrimental to your financial future.

During the divorce process, work towards a fair division of assets and debts, and this includes the retirement assets you and your spouse have accumulated over the course of the marriage. Additionally, don’t neglect to update your estate plan. If you forget this important step, your ex-husband or wife could end up with a fair share of your estate, years after the divorce is final and you’ve moved on to the next chapter of your life, and even perhaps a new partner.

Updating Beneficiary Designations

Remember that many assets have “beneficiary designations.” If you added your spouse as a beneficiary on your life insurance, your bank accounts, and on your retirement accounts while you were married, then his or her name will remain there until you go through formal procedures to have their name removed.

Until you update your beneficiary designations, your ex-husband or wife shall remain the beneficiary on these accounts. For example, suppose a man named Sam divorced Mary. Ten years after the divorce, Sam dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. In the end, a large portion of his assets automatically passed to his ex-wife, a woman he despised – all because Sam forgot to update his beneficiary designations!

The moral of the story is, every time you get a divorce or remarry, it’s wise to review and update your estate plan to ensure it aligns with your current wishes.

Need a Nashville estate planning attorney? Contact my firm today at (888) 492-4735!

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David Whittaker, Attorney at Law

Call Today: (888) 492-4735

David Whittaker, Attorney at Law - Nashville Probate Attorney
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Call Today: (888) 492-4735
(615) 289-6284
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