Ask any estate planning expert in Cranberry Township, and they will tell you that it is best that you see to your estate planning early on in your adult life. This is due to the fact that you never know what tomorrow will bring, and it is best to be prepared for anything. Yet many events can transpire after creating your will (such as a divorce). Many have come to us here at the Sweeney Law Offices, LLC when preparing for a divorce asking what to steps to take after their marriages have officially ended. Many often forget to address their estate planning in these scenarios.
Yet the reason why updating your will following your divorce may not what you are thinking. If you are like most, then you are likely concerned that if you do not amend your will after your marriage ends, then your ex-spouse will remain your beneficiary after your death. Yet according to Section 2507 of Pennsylvania’s Consolidated Statutes, a divorce effectively invalidates any provisions in your will that address your ex-spouse (it is considered as though they preceded you in death). Thus, the fear that your ex-spouse will still inherit your assets is unwarranted.
Yet you may want to ask yourself if that is what you truly want to happen. Say that you have young children, and you want to put whatever assets that you have in a trust in the event that something happens to you. It may be wise to name your ex-spouse as trustee until your kids reach adulthood. Thus, while you likely want to change the will provisions concerning them, you may not want to write your ex-spouse out of your will altogether.
You can learn more about planning for your post-divorce life by cotinuining to explore our site.
