Does Florida Law Divorce-Proof Your Estate Plan?
By now, Floridians know the cautionary tales about updating your will when you file for divorce. We all remember when Burt and Lovey Handelsman divorced after more than 50 years of marriage, and it took years for the court to divide their real estate empire. Gray divorce accounts for the largest share of divorce cases these days, and you are closer in age to the Handelsmans than you care to admit, even though your net worth is nowhere near theirs. We also remember the epic divorce saga of Ric Ocasek of the band The Cars and his estranged wife Paulina Porizkova, a video vixen of MTV’s Golden Age who, in her later years, became a voice of reason in a world gone mad. Ocasek, likewise, was wise enough to revise his will so that Porizkova would not inherit from him if he died before the divorce became final, which he did. Knowing that you are mortal is the first step in estate planning, and Ocasek seems to have understood that message. Revising your will is only one of the estate planning actions you should take if you file for divorce or if you receive a divorce petition from your spouse. To find out more about updating your estate plan during a pending divorce, contact a Tampa estate planning lawyer.
How a Pending Divorce Affects Your Estate Planning Documents
Remember that estate planning is not just about your family inheriting, or not inheriting, you property after you die. It is also about your financial and medical care in your old age and illness. If you had enough forethought to sign documents delegating authority for decisions related to your older, sicker self and transferred some of your property to non-probate assets, then you are a catch, but your spouse might be foolish enough to divorce you, anyway.
If you signed a power of attorney designating your spouse as agent or a healthcare surrogate authorizing your spouse to make medical decisions on your behalf, then these documents become void as soon as the court received the divorce petition. If you have signed a designation of preneed guardian, listing your spouse as guardian, the court will decide on a case-by-case basis whether your estranged spouse acting as your guardian if you become incapacitated while your divorce is pending would constitute a conflict of interest. Meanwhile, if you designate your spouse as a beneficiary of a non-probate asset such as a life insurance policy, transfer on death (TOD) bank account, or payable on death (POD) investment account, those beneficiary designations remain valid until your divorce becomes final. Your estate planning lawyer can help you ensure that all of your estate planning documents accurately reflect your pending divorce.
Contact David Toback About Updating Beneficiaries of Non-Probate Assets
A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you update your estate plan to prevent a nightmarish probate if one spouse dies before the divorce becomes final. Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.
Source:
floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/estate-planning-issues-in-a-divorce-situation-ii-an-update-and-standing-orders/
