If you and your spouse have chosen to separate or get a divorce, you will want to review many aspects of your joint lives to determine what changes you must make. Many of these decisions may revolve around your shared assets as well as your shared debts.
Other parts of your life also warrant a review when getting divorced, such as who you would want to name as your heir, executor or trustee after you die. Estate planning wishes take on a new view during and after a divorce.
Financial and medical management
If you experienced an unforeseen accident or received a potentially serious medical diagnosis, you may need another person to oversee your health care and communicate with doctors and other medical professionals. Without a health care power of attorney in place, this right and responsibility may land with your estranged spouse. For this reason, Forbes indicates that creating or updating this document once you separate may be wise.
Similarly, a durable power of attorney grants another party the ability to take care of your finances should you be unable to, making it another important document to update or create when divorcing.
Assets and heirs
When it comes to a will or a trust, you may not update these things until your divorce completes as you will not know what assets you have until then.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give residents in Texas an overview of the elements of an estate plan and what may or may not be updated during a marital divorce.
