Updating your estate plan after a marriage, divorce, or remarriage





Once you’ve prepared your estate plan it may be tempting to sit back and pat yourself on your back – good job, you’ve prepared for the inevitable. However, as tempting as it may be to forget about your estate plan and get on with your life, there are times that you really need to sit back down and reevaluate it.

Major life events – births, deaths, marriages, divorces, major new purchases – mean that your estate plan may need to be updated, otherwise it may inaccurately reflect your new life and your new wishes. It is especially important that you update your estate plan if your marital status changes.

Changing your beneficiary designation

Part of updating your estate plan when you marry, divorce, or remarry is changing the beneficiary designations on your various financial and insurance accounts. It is important that you do this f r each account. Below are some items that you should ensure are updated to reflect the changes in your married life:

  • Will and trusts
  • Powers of attorney (including durable financial and healthcare powers of attorney)
  • 401k plans or other employer retirement plan
  • Individual retirement account (IRA)
  • Health savings account
  • Investment accounts (change your ‘transfer on death’ designation)
  • Bank accounts (update your ‘payable on death’ designation)

Updating your estate plan after marriage

When you get married, you will probably want to include your new spouse in your estate plan. There are also a few additional documents you may want to consider creating (or updating, if you already have them) to further protect your assets. A durable financial power of attorney will allow your spouse or another trusted person to make financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated.

You should also consider (or update) a durable healthcare power of attorney. Just like the financial power of attorney, this document will allow your spouse or another person you designate to make medical decisions for you in the event that you become incapacitated.

Divorce and your estate plan

Divorce can be a messy and painful process for many people, the difficulty of which can lead them to ignore important estate “housekeeping” issues like ensuring that their beneficiary lists and other estate planning documents are updated. If don’t keep on top of these things, your former spouse could end up benefitting from your death – something you may not want to happen after you pass away.

Revising your estate plan when you remarry

Just like marriage and divorce, if your marital status changes because you have decided to get married again, make sure that you revisit your estate plan. You don’t want to leave your new spouse out of your estate if you pass away unexpectedly – nor do you want to inadvertently leave assets to your former spouse.

Do you have questions about estate planning in Pennsylvania? The elder law attorneys at Shields and Boris can help you with a variety of estate planning issues – please contact their Wexford offices today to learn more.

Elder Law Offices of Shields and Boris

109 VIP Drive

Suite 200

Wexford, PA 15090

Toll Free: (888) 444-4093

Phone: (724) 934-5044


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