If you and your spouse had worked to create a thorough estate plan but since made the decision to get a divorce, the long-term plans you once made may no longer fit your future life as a single person.
In the midst of making decisions about where you will live, when you will spend time with your kids, how you will share your retirement savings and more, you may want to take a look at your estate plan.
Estate planning during a divorce
As explained by Forbes, an estate plan may include a range of activities or document types. Some of these may be updated once you and your spouse separate. Two documents that fall into this category are a durable power of attorney and an advance directive, sometimes referred to as a medical power of attorney.
Married persons generally name their spouse as the person able to make medical decisions on their behalf or manage their finances should they be unable to do so for themselves. You may not wish your estranged spouse to have this power, making updated documents important for you once you decide you are getting divorced.
Estate planning after a divorce
Some elements of an estate plan may need to wait for your divorce to complete prior to updating them so you know what assets you have remaining.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give divorcing residents in Tennessee an overview of how the end of their marriage may provide a new reason to update their estate planning and how the terms of their divorce may impact their plans.