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Home » Estate Planning » Recently Divorced? Have You Updated Your Estate Plan?

Recently Divorced? Have You Updated Your Estate Plan?

December 11, 2021Estate Planning

Los Angeles estate planning attorney

If you recently went through a divorce, you are probably still dealing with the emotional ramifications of that process. As such, it can be very easy to overlook the numerous practical steps that should be taken after a divorce. For example, the Los Angeles estate planning attorney at Schomer Law Group, APC estate planning documents that usually need to be updated following a divorce.

The Importance of Updating Your Plan After a Divorce

Most married couples create estate plans that reflect their marital status. For instance, your spouse is likely the beneficiary of many assets and you probably hold some assets jointly. Some married couples have estate plans that are even more intertwined. You may also have appointed your spouse to important fiduciary and/or decision-making positions within your estate plan. All of that makes sense while you are married, particularly if you have children together; however, if you decide to end the marriage you should update your estate plan to reflect the change in your status as soon as possible after the divorce is final. After all, you probably don’t want your now ex-spouse to be the beneficiary of your life insurance policy (unless it is as the Trustee for your minor children) nor do you want him/her to inherit your estate assets. Worst still, imagine failing to update an advance directive that appoints your spouse as your Agent for making health care decisions for you in the event you incapacity prevents you from making them yourself? Always consult with your estate planning attorney before making any changes to your estate plan that are the result of a divorce because the divorce laws in your state may require you to maintain the status quo until the divorce is final.

Estate Plan Updates Following Your Divorce

You should consult with your estate planning attorney to determine all of the changes you need to make to your plan following your divorce; however, the following five are common updates that you will likely need to make:

  1. Updating your Will. Along with removing your spouse as a beneficiary under the provisions of your Will, you may also need to remove him/her as the Executor of your estate and appoint someone new to the position.
  2. Amend a trust agreement. A trust is a very popular addition to the average estate plan. If your plan includes a trust, and you appointed your spouse to be the Trustee of the trust, you may need to amend the trust agreement to appoint a new Trustee.
  3. Changing beneficiaries of life insurance. Your spouse is also likely the primary beneficiary of your life insurance policies. Before changing this, make sure that your divorce decree does not require you  to continue to maintain life insurance that names your spouse as the beneficiary as is frequently the case when minor children are involved.
  4. Terminating a Power of Attorney. At some point you may have executed a Power of Attorney naming your spouse as your Agent. You will want to terminate the POA as soon as possible.
  5. Changing your Agent under an advanced directive. If you have an advance directive in place you probably named your spouse as your Agent, giving him/her the legal authority to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to make them at some point. Executing a new one naming someone else as your Agent should resolve this problem.

Contact a Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney

For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions or concerns about updating your estate plan after a divorce, contact an experienced Los Angeles estate planning attorney at Schomer Law Group APCby calling (310) 337-7696 to schedule an appointment.

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Scott Schomer, Estate Planning Attorney
Scott Schomer, Estate Planning Attorney
A graduate of Boston University School of Law, Scott P. Schomer is a frequent lecturer on estate planning and elder law issues, having discussed these important issues on local and national television. A seasoned courtroom advocate, Scott has obtained combined judgments and verdicts in excess of twenty-five million dollars for his clients. Scott has served as a member of the Los Angeles Superior Court Probate Volunteer Panel (PVP Attorney), Probate Settlement Panel and a Judge Pro Tempore. Scott's expertise has been recognized by his peers with such accolades as a life-time membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Five Star Wealth Manager designation, and repeated nominations as California Super Lawyer.
Scott Schomer, Estate Planning Attorney
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We need to update our Living Trust and attended Schomer Law Group’s seminar. Afterwards we made an appointment and were impressed by the attention Scott Schomer and Liran Aliav gave to our case answering all questions and making suggestions how to minimize the estate tax. All the office staff is very friendly and we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

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We put off getting a trust for years. After attending a seminar with Scott Schomer we realized that the time had come to get a trust. We were given very good reasons for why we should get a trust. No pressure, just the plain facts. We are very relieved and happy to finally get our trust. Scott and Cesar were very knowledgeable, helpful and listened to our ideas of what we had to say. Any questions that we have now and in the future they are available to assist us to solve them. I recommend the Schomer Law Group and I wish we knew about them years ago.

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When you’re presented with an invitation to attend in a mailer, you may have reservations, this was a truly gift!! My wife and I were educated and guided through the process of creating a family trust.
Both of our parents had attorney’s that “worked” with wills/trusts, but came up short. Fortunately, the Schomer Law Group was there! This is a group of attorney’s that only specialize in estate planning, law, and financial advice, so you know you’re getting expert and personalized advice. This is the best money we’ve ever spent!! Thank you!

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We knew we had to update our 10 year old ( 20 page ) trust. After several detailed meetings, Liran and Cesar produced a large ( 300 pages + ) highly detailed trust document that we have used to make sure our family estate is well managed and clearly understood.
They were all very helpful in answering myriad questions and explaining all the various options…

We would strongly recommend the Schomer Law Group to anyone with an estate of even modest means, to assure proper planning…

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We had contemplated updating our will and starting a trust for a number of years. After attending a talk by Scott Schomer we realized we were long overdue and the potential downside of not having our affairs in order was significant. Scott and his excellent team made the process simple and seamless. They were great listeners, addressed all our concerns and even pulled and processed all the paperwork from our financial institutions. If you are looking for assistance with estate planning, wills and trusts, we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

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Mr. Schomer was excellent in getting our family trust and estate affairs in order. My husband and I had put off doing this and Scott really made the process easy! He is very passionate in making sure his clients get all that they need and we really appreciated it. I would highly recommend him and look forward to the many years he will be available to assist our family.

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