You will need insight from an experienced estate planning lawyer if you intend to get divorced because there are many different issues that have to be addressed at the outset of this process.
Failing to include these in your process could expose you to problems down the road, such as having beneficiary designation forms that have a spouse’s name listed on them. Legally, the company responsible for managing that plan has a responsibility to adhere to your beneficiary forms.
Read on in this three-part series to learn more about the estate planning steps that you must take if you are planning to get a divorce.
Update All Health Care Proxies
In this first blog, we will explore the potential for challenges associated with health care proxies when you get divorced. If you are in a vehicle accident and end up in the ICU, do you know who is legally entitled to make decisions on your behalf?
Chances are that you have a health care proxy that has been in place for a long period of time naming your spouse as a decision maker. This can also prove problematic if you are separated from your spouse but have not legally gone through the process of divorce.
This means that in the event something happens to you, the previously established legal documents and general spousal guidelines are in place. Make sure that you consider who you wish to empower with this role as key decision maker in the midst of a divorce.
Sitting down with an estate planning attorney in Pasadena can help walk you through what you consider when developing a health care proxy as well as why it is so important to have one in place that is updated after you get a divorce.
