Common Estate Law Mistakes People Make During a Divorce
Life can get complicated. We all know that, especially if you’re going through a divorce. Unfortunately, death can make things more complicated. Plans you made when you were anticipating your life together become either inappropriate or overly simplistic after a divorce. This is where the overlap between family law and estate law comes in.
When a couple divorces, family lawyers should be focused on finding resolution and a way for a family to move their lives forward. However, when creating an actual separation agreement, death needs to be a strong consideration. Just how important is estate law during a divorce? Well, let’s think of a fictional scenario:
Imagine a couple married, got divorced, and then the former husband falls very ill. While the family is making preparations for any possible outcomes, they realize that his former wife still has power of attorney. This can create complications during an already difficult time. If they had considered estate planning during their divorce, they would have made all necessary updates to existing documents and when he became ill, no one would be forced to add stress to an already stressful situation.
3 Common Estate Law Mistakes During a Divorce:
1. Forgetting to remove the former spouse from a will or POA
This seems simple, but it’s a common one to slip through the cracks. Always make sure that you’re updating your will if you’re getting a divorce. Removing a beneficiary is important, but there are likely many areas of your will you will need to update. If you include an estate lawyer on your collaborative team, they will be able to advise you on all of the areas you’ll need to address, and you can incorporate those decisions into your separation agreement.
2. Neglecting to include clauses in a separation agreement that relate to an estate
Separation agreements should be made with as many scenarios in mind as possible, including death of a spouse. When financial professionals are looking at dividing assets and equalization payments, estates should be addressed to ensure the estate will cover any payments still owing to a former spouse.
3. Not considering death when creating spousal or child support plans
If you have children with your former spouse, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve considered what would happen if a parent dies. This often includes financial terms such as child support and trusts, and life insurance.
How Collaborative Law Can Help
One of the best things about collaborative law is that it acknowledges that a divorce is more than dividing assets. A collaborative divorce team often includes other professionals, like family and financial neutrals. It can also include consulting an estate lawyer to make sure that all of your bases are covered. An estate lawyer can advise on estate planning in separation and can work with the rest of the collaborative team to make sure that the resolution everyone agrees on will actually stand the test of time. Because collaborative law leaves room for creative solutions that will protect both parties, an estate lawyer can use items like life insurance or trusts as a tool to help reach a fair agreement. As an added (but not small!) bonus, considering the overlap between estate and family law during a collaborative divorce will help with unnecessary conflict in the future.
Elinor Shinehoft is a Family and Estate Lawyer. Her passion is to help people navigate and move forward through difficult and challenging life situations. Since becoming a lawyer in 2002, Over the years, she shifted her focus to collaborative law, mediation, and negotiation out of court. What distinguishes Elinor from the average family lawyer is that she also has an estate planning and wills practice. These two areas of law have significant overlap and allow her to get a full picture of her clients’ situations as well as come up with practical and creative solutions to benefit entire families.
