An Important Step: Estate Planning Post-Divorce
Last updated on January 3, 2025
With any major life transition, like a divorce, a lot of changes happen, and sometimes, the details take time to settle. An important legal task that is often overlooked after a divorce is finalized is revising and updating your estate plan to reflect your new circumstances. A post-divorce estate planning attorney can provide invaluable legal advice.
At Dahlberg, Stanley & Foderetti, LLC, our attorneys have dedicated their legal careers to helping families in Columbus and the surrounding Ohio communities with their legal challenges. They are experienced divorce attorneys and also regularly assist clients with crafting comprehensive estate plans. If you need a post-divorce estate planning attorney, they understand the intricacies of the divorce transition and stay abreast of Ohio’s nuanced estate planning laws.
Is Your Will Still Valid After Your Divorce?
A divorce legally dissolves your marriage. However, your estate planning documents, like your will, remain in effect until you take the legal steps that are necessary to make changes. In other words, the changes in your life may affect how you feel about the original terms of your will or beneficiaries that you’ve named. Ohio law automatically revokes certain provisions in your will regarding your ex-spouse, but it is essential to review your will and your entire estate planning documents to ensure everything aligns with your current intentions.
Updating Your Estate Plan After A Divorce
Revising your entire estate plan after a divorce is an important step to re-establishing your life. Reviewing these important documents with the guidance of an experienced estate planning attorney will help you make sure that your assets are protected and your wishes will be honored. Documents in your estate plan that need to be reviewed include:
- Your will: Adjust beneficiaries and executors to reflect your new circumstances.
- Trusts: Update any relevant terms of your trusts or re-designate trustees, especially if your ex-spouse is involved.
- Power of attorney: Assign someone you trust to make financial or medical decisions on your behalf.
- Health care proxy: Choose someone who you are confident will respect your medical preferences.
- Beneficiary designations: Update life insurance policies, retirement accounts and other financial instruments and name new beneficiaries to replace your ex-spouse.
Our attorneys at Dahlberg, Stanley & Foderetti, LLC, regularly assist clients through complex divorce cases, as well as provide legal guidance to create comprehensive estate plans. With this dual focus, our lawyers are especially attuned to the estate planning issues that arise post-divorce. They can help you with asset protection after a divorce, revoke your will after a divorce, beneficiary designation changes and estate planning revisions.
It is always important to revisit your estate planning documents on a regular basis to make sure they reflect your current wishes and circumstances. This is especially true after a major life event, like the death of a loved one, a divorce or an adoption.
Consult A Post-Divorce Estate Planning Attorney
At Dahlberg, Stanley & Foderetti, LLC, we offer an initial consultation appointment. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and hear more about how we can help you address your legal challenges. To schedule an appointment, you can call our office at 614-670-8103. You can also book a consultation by sending us a message through our website. We look forward to hearing more about your case.