Medical Advance Directives and Your Pending Divorce
You know you are old when most of the divorce advice that comes up as a result of your Google search sounds like it was geared toward someone considerably younger than you. If you need additional evidence that you are old, consider that you are using Google to search for divorce advice. Generic divorce advice tends to focus on the challenges of co-parenting minor children and keeping the peace with your former in-laws and the parents of your new partner. These all sound like young people worries; the people who have time to worry about this stuff also have time to earn more money through employment and to rebuild their relationships with their children. Your parents and in-laws are long gone, and your children have long since grown up. Your worries center more around how you will sustain yourself in your retirement and, eventually, in your final illness. For help figuring out which changes to make to your estate plan now that your spouse has filed for divorce, contact a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
Some of the Provisions of Your Estate Plan Become Void as Soon as You File for Divorce
When seniors file for divorce, as an increasing number of them do, divorce lawyers always caution them to update their wills and, if their spouses will agree to it, sign a postnuptial agreement. If you don’t update your will, then if one spouse dies while the divorce is pending, the probate court interprets the decedent’s will the same way it would if the couple had never separated, even if the divorce case has been going on for years.
Some estate planning documents automatically change when one spouse files for divorce, though. For example, if one spouse issued a power of attorney designating the other spouse as agent, a divorce filing automatically makes the POA invalid. Likewise, your spouse’s status as transfer on death (TOD) or payable on death (POD) beneficiary of your accounts also becomes void as soon as the court receives the divorce filing. If you signed an advance directive authorizing your spouse to consent to medical treatment on your behalf, it also becomes invalid as soon as the divorce case begins.
The estate planning document that occupies a legal gray area is the designation of preneed guardian. If, in healthier times, you signed a document expressing your wishes for your spouse to be your guardian if you needed one, but you filed for divorce and then became incapacitated, the court must decide on a case-by-case basis whether it would amount to a conflict of interest if your estranged spouse acted as your guardian. If that sounds like a scary thought, you should revoke your designation of preneed guardian and designate another family member.
Contact Schwartz | White About Revising Your Estate Plan to Accord With Your Divorce
A South Florida family law attorney can help you ensure that your estate plan does not leave room for a legal mess if you become seriously ill while your divorce is pending. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/estate-planning-issues-in-a-divorce-situation-ii-an-update-and-standing-orders/
