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!