Updating Your Estate Plan After Divorce in Oklahoma
Making sure that your estate plan is updated after a divorce is crucial to protecting your family and your finances. Oklahoma law dictates some automatic changes to your estate documents after a divorce, although there may be some gaps in those rules. This is why you should never rely solely on the automatic provisions of the law. Instead, you should perform a thorough evaluation of all your estate documents to make sure they are fully updated after a divorce.
What Happens to My Estate Plan After a Divorce?
It is not uncommon for your spouse’s name to appear quite often in your estate plan. Most spouses choose to leave most of their estate to the other spouse. After a divorce, this can make things a little tricky.
In Oklahoma, certain automatic triggers take place after a divorce. Those include:
- Wills: Any provision in a will that addresses or gives property to your ex-spouse is automatically revoked. For legal purposes, the law acts as if your ex-spouse predeceased you.
- Revocable trusts: Similar rules apply here as they do for wills, particularly where an ex-spouse is named as a successor trustee or beneficiary.
- Powers of attorney: If you named your ex-spouse as your agent, their power is typically terminated after the divorce.
- Transfer-on-death financial accounts: Many people use TOD designations to name a beneficiary for their financial accounts. These may be affected, but it depends on the account designation and whether state or federal law applies to the account.
These automatic provisions in the law can prevent your ex-spouse from receiving an inheritance. However, they do not name new beneficiaries or make any other changes that may better reflect your post-divorce wishes.
Which Parts of My Estate Plan Should I Update After a Divorce?
After a divorce, it is always a good idea to update all of your estate plan documents. The specific changes that you make will depend on your personal goals and wishes. Some common changes you might wish to make include:
Wills
While the automatic revocations of your ex-spouse can help, you should still make some changes to avoid confusion or ambiguity. Make sure that you remove all references to your ex-spouse, name new beneficiaries for your estate, and update the naming of a guardian for any minor children.
Trusts
Trusts are powerful estate planning tools, and you should always review the details of your trust after a divorce. You may need to update your successor trustee or beneficiary designations. Additionally, you may need to make changes to the way that property in your trust is titled.
Advance Health Directives
More than likely, your advance health directive gives your ex-spouse the authority to make your healthcare decisions. Make sure that you update your documents to reflect your current wishes after your divorce.
When Should I Update My Estate Plan After a Divorce?
There is no legal requirement or deadline for updating your estate plan after a divorce. However, you should do so as soon as possible. The longer you wait to make updates, the greater the chances that something could happen in the meantime. If you need help updating your estate plan after a divorce, contact Helon Law Firm to schedule a consultation.
