When Couples Decide to File for Divorce, They Also Need to Consider Their Estate Plans

• Publication year: 2020
• Author: Heather Frimmer

When Couples Decide to File for Divorce, They Also Need to Consider Their Estate Plans

Heather Frimmer

Heather Frimmer graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society. She earned her Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California, and has been a member of the California State Bar since 2002. After welcoming twin boys in 2016, she focused her law practice on estate planning. Her goal is to make it easy for families to obtain the peace of mind that comes with knowing loved ones and assets will be taken care of regardless of what the future holds.

Divorce can take a long time. In California, the absolute minimum amount of time a divorce can take is six months. Complicated cases can take years. During this time, your clients need your guidance on what they can and can't do regarding their estate plans. This article is intended to provide you with a list of estate planning issues your client needs to be aware of when they are preparing for, or in the middle of, a dissolution proceeding.

Before or After Filing

Make sure your clients take an inventory of their estate plan. What documents have they executed? Where are the actual documents? They also need to take an inventory of their assets—both community and separate—for estate planning purposes, as well as the divorce. Where are their assets going if something were to happen to them today? They should make a list of who has been designated to receive property and whether or not they want to change those designations. Most married couples hire the same attorney to prepare their joint estate plan. Your clients should contact a separate attorney to review any divorce settlement and help prepare a new estate plan after the court signs the judgment.

What Happens if Your Client Becomes Incapacitated Before the Court Signs the Judgment?

Your clients should be aware that their incapacity documents are their power of attorney documents. They should have a financial power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney. For married couples, the designated agent (the person selected to make decisions on the principal's behalf) is often the spouse. During the period of time after filing for divorce and before the judge signs the divorce judgment, anything can happen. Your clients should take a look at their incapacity documents and ask themselves the following questions:

1. Is your spouse listed as the initial agent?
2. What if you are in an...