Many practical plans you have already made will need to change when you decide to divorce. Where you intend to live after retiring, when you intend to retire and who will take care of you in a medical emergency may all change.
Updating your estate plan is a necessary step following the end of a marriage. You can remove your ex as a beneficiary so that they won’t inherit anything from you and also remove them from the powers of attorney and healthcare directive documents.
While you update those estate planning papers, you also need to reach out to your life insurance company if your spouse was your beneficiary.
You need to update the insurance records
For you to have control over what happens with your property when you die, you need to have an up-to-date estate plan. Typically, your will and other documents will determine what happens with your belongings when you pass away.
However, your will isn’t what designates someone as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. Instead, the paperwork that you filed directly with the insurance company determines who receives the payouts after your death.
Although family members can often challenge the inclusion of a former spouse in an estate plan by challenging a will, they will not have that option with a life insurance policy. You will need to update the official beneficiary designations with the insurance provider to ensure that the resources go to someone other than your ex.
Making the right estate planning changes during or after a divorce will protect you from personal risk and inappropriate estate outcomes.