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Estate Planning and Divorce
An Effective Estate Plan After Divorce
A well designed estate plan is unique to the person it is created for and the goals it is designed to accomplish. Many people find they have different needs and goals for their estate plan after their divorce. This article will discuss two of the most common issues: planning for yourself and planning for your children.
The first concern is getting your estate plan for yourself in order. If you had an estate plan in place before divorce, it almost certainly does not reflect your goals after a divorce. Your ex-spouse may be the only beneficiary of your Will or Trust as well as your attorney-in-fact and health care representative. Some of these provisions are automatically changed once your divorce is final while others are not. The first step in evaluating the need for a new estate plan is understanding what your existing estate plan provides.
The second concern involves families with children, and specifically young children. In my experience most married couples leave their assets to each other. This technique is straightforward for the most part. Most people experience a shift after a divorce in their primary beneficiary from the now ex-spouse to their children. In cases with young children, many parents turn to a trust agreement to provide long term security for their children and peace of mind for themselves.
Effective Estate planning is more than the documents you hold in your hand. It is protection for yourself in case you become disabled. It is security that your assets will be distributed as you desire after you pass away. Perhaps most important, it is security for children if something unexpected happens.
Richard L. Shea
Attorney at Law
860-593-0404
www.SheaLawOnline.com
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