If you are in the process of getting a divorce in Indiana, you may feel overwhelmed at the number of things you must take care of. Certainly, a divorce touches every aspect of your life. One thing you should give some attention to during this process is your estate plan. Some elements of an estate plan may be able to be changed as soon as you separate but others may have to wait until your divorce is finalized.
Forbes explains that the pitfalls of not updating your estate plan include your former spouse inheriting all of your assets after you die. Another potential scenario is that your spouse could become responsible for making financial or health care decisions on your behalf if you are not able to do so for yourself. This could happen even if you do not have a formalized estate plan if you become disabled and unable to communicate after an accident before you are legally divorced.
During your divorce, you should make a list of the documents or plans you need to create or update. These include your designated beneficiaries on life insurance policies or retirement plans, wills, trusts, health care proxies, durable powers of attorney and more. Taking care of these things is essential to protecting your assets.
If you would like to learn more about the importance of conducting a thorough review of your estate plan during and after your divorce, please feel free to visit the personal planning for divorced persons page of our Indiana estate planning website.
