HOW A DIVORCE AFFECTS YOUR NEED FOR A WILL AND OTHER DOCUMENTS.
When you and your spouse have separated, you want the most experienced divorce lawyers Putnam CT. The Prue Law Group is an eastern Connecticut law firm with over 35 years of experience. Dissolution of your marriage may affect more than your marital status. Under Connecticut law, a divorce may invalidate an existing will or previous estate plan.
When you have children, own property, and have investments and other assets, you may also want legal help with your estate planning documents. One of our recommendations to our clients commencing a divorce or separation is the necessity for drafting, or redrafting, their will even while the divorce is pending. This is especially crucial if there are minor children involved. For example, if a custodial parent dies following the divorce the children would automatically go to the surviving parent. This means that the ex-spouse would not only be given custody, but as the children’s guardian, would be given managing control over any assets left to them. Naming a guardian for your children in your will allows your wishes to be heard.
Changing the beneficiaries on your payable on death accounts can be the first things you can address. Many checking, savings, and investment accounts bypass the probate process. If you are the sole account holder, the paperwork is fairly easy. The process with life insurance policies is a simple change of beneficiary designation. If you and your spouse have trusts, you may need some help from a professional estate planning attorney.
If you have ever signed a form giving Power of Attorney to your spouse, you may want to file documents revoking those powers. You will probably not want your ex-spouse to make decisions on your behalf or access your finances. Consider designating someone else as your medical and financial power of attorney.
Choose The Prue Law Group for Divorce and Estate Planning
Due to the nature of a divorce, it is safe to say that one’s intentions regarding their estate plan change. Drafting your will and estate plan prior to the finalization of the divorce avoids any questions concerning inheritance, assets, personal property, life insurance. The ex-spouse is out of the will, off the powers of attorney and health care designations, removed as beneficiary of the insurance policy etc. There also may be a need to redo the deed to the house and address the mortgage. The attorneys at The Prue Law Group, PC are here to guide you through the unsettling, emotional time of divorce. When Legal Matters….Call The Prue Law Group today at (860) 423-9231.