Planning Through Divorce

In the midst of a divorce, estate planning may be the last thing you want to think about. It may be time to think again . . .
Some reasons to consider estate planning while going through a divorce:
- You are still married, even when you are going through a divorce process. In case of a medical emergency, your spouse is the person who has the right to make medical decisions for you. Unless, of course, you have a health care directive nominating a different person to do so.
- Your spouse may still inherit all your assets, if you die during the process. This can certainly be changed. Florida law does not allow you to disinherit your spouse, but you can certainly have a simple will providing the minimum the law allows (not all).
- If you already had a plan in place, it is time to review and update to meet the above two paragraphs.
- You are not able to change title to assets during the marriage, but make sure you have designation of beneficiaries ready to be changed as soon as you get that divorce decree.
- Child Support can be secured with trusts for children . . . .
- Life insurance is another tool to secure payment of child support in the event the other parent passes away in the future. This can be included in your marital settlement agreement.
We can prepare a preliminary plan for you to protect you during the divorce and we will remind you to update and upgrade your estate plan to meet your needs once divorce is over.