Creating An Estate Plan, Will or Trust After a Divorce

Creating an estate plan is crucial for anyone who intends to oversee the disposal of their property, whether during their lifetime or after death. Working with the best Dallas TX estate planning lawyers from the law office of Badmus & Associates will enlighten you on the most suitable estate planning option. After divorce, you no longer have a spouse to count on when making important decisions like choosing executors, trustees, etc. hence choosing such parties will have to be done more cautiously. At Badmus & Associates, our attorneys are committed to ensuring that you get the right information and are well informed about relevant updates needed on your assets after divorce.

Wills
During the subsistence of a marriage, your spouse counts as a beneficiary legally entitled to inherit your estate. Parties to a divorce can create an agreement directing that each party ceases to be a beneficiary in the other’s estate planning documents. Some states give specific directions as regards what happens to wills after divorce. Our Dallas TX estate planning lawyers will help you know the provisions applicable in Texas. The Texas Estate Code considers the provisions of a previous will as void unless the will has exemptions. On the issue of benefits like life insurance, an ex-spouse has no right of inheritance unless further action to include your ex-spouse as a beneficiary is taken. Therefore, to bring more clarity to your will, you should update the will to exclude the ex-spouse’s name as a beneficiary.

Trusts
Any property bequeathed to your ex-spouse in a revocable trust becomes void upon divorce. On the other hand, property allocated to your ex-spouse in an irrevocable trust can still be inherited. Therefore, if you intend only to have your spouse as a beneficiary if you die while still married, it is essential to work with an attorney from Badmus & Associates at all estate planning stages.