Couples who get divorced face many
important issues: how to divide property,
how much spousal support to give, and if
children are involved who will the children
live with and what visitation will be for the
other parent. Attention paid to these issues
can cause a person to forget to update
important documents after the divorce.
Will: You may have made a will
during your marriage. Since your
family circumstances have changed, you
may want to change how your property will
be distributed upon your death. Also, if your
spouse was named as executor (the person
who will administer your estate during
probate), you may want to name a new
person to handle your estate issues.
Living Trust: If you have a living
trust, you should review it to see if changes
are needed regarding who will receive
property and who will manage the trust.
many living trusts are revocable and can be
changed.
Life Insurance: Review your life
insurance policy. If you named your spouse
as a beneficiary, you may want to name a
new one. in most cases it is relatively easy
to change the beneficiary of a life insurance
policy.
Power of Attorney: You may have
created a "durable power of attorney" letting
your spouse manage your business affairs if
you become mentally or physically disabled.
Perhaps you have a "durable power of
attorney for health care" letting your spouse
make health care decisions for you. In both
cases, due to your change in
circumstances, you may want to give this
power to someone else. Powers of attorney
can be changed or revoked at any time while
you are competent. However, there are
certain requirements for changing them.
Bank Accounts: Make sure your ex-
spouse is no longer an authorized signor on
your bank accounts, mutual funds or money
market funds.
Goverment Records: If you move
because of a divorce, remember to change
goverment and other records (such as
driver's license, and voter registration card)
Credit Cards: If you have credit
cards issued to both you and your spouse,
be sure to remove him or her as an
authorized user, change the cards or get
new cards issued.
Corporate Minutes: If your ex-
spouse is an officer of a corporation you
own, you should update your corporate
minutes and amend the annual report filed
with the Department of State, Division of
Corporations.
These are just some of the main documents
to review and consider updating after a
divorce. Please feel free to call me to review
and update your will and/or living trust and
any other documents that should be
changed following your divorce.
