A divorce can affect several areas of your life, including your finances, relationships, personal well-being, and routines. Many of these aspects will also influence your estate plan. When you get a divorce, you need to review your existing estate plan to ensure it meets your wishes and does not become unenforceable. A Withcita divorce attorney can help you review the documents in your plan that may have been affected by your divorce and help you create a valid plan.
Your estate plan can do many things for you, including giving your assets to your loved ones and causes you care about, preventing your estate from going through the costly and public probate process, and safeguarding your assets. If the plan becomes unenforceable, you lose these benefits. There are many life changes that can affect your estate plan, and divorce is one of the most influential.
Documents and Decisions To Review After a Wichita Divorce
Your divorce can impact the beneficiaries of your assets and how you want to provide for your children’s care and limit the resources you have to distribute. The following are some areas of your estate plan you may want to consider:
1.Property You Own
An estate plan lets you list your assets in a will or trust and assign beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries. In a divorce, marital property is divided between you and your spouse, so you may not have access to half of the assets you and your spouse held together. Divorce is also expensive and may have affected your overall assets.
If your estate plan includes assets that you no longer own, it can complicate the process of administering your estate and even make the entire estate plan unenforceable. Changes to your financial circumstances can also impact your personal needs and wishes, including how you can provide for your care and your family’s care.
2.Care and Financial Support for Your Children
When you get divorced, and you have minor children, your estate plan may need to change to provide them with the proper care they need. Your will can name a guardian, which you may or may not want to be your ex-spouse. Your estate plan can also affect the inheritance rights of your children. You want to ensure their finances are protected and maybe even kept out of the control of your ex-spouse.
3.Executors and Trustees
Many married couples name each other as the trustee or successor trustee of their trusts and the executor of their will and estate. After a divorce, this may be a designation you want to change. Consider who you trust to have control over your estate and its distribution.
4.Will, Trust, and Other Beneficiary Designations
Your estate plan includes beneficiary designations in your will, trusts, and numerous accounts and policies. Review all of these designations to ensure they match your intentions for your estate after a divorce. You may need to review life insurance policies, bank accounts, retirement accounts, property, and real estate documents.
Kansas law can affect documents made prior to divorce by automatically removing your former spouse as an inheritor. This may leave assets without beneficiaries, or you may want your spouse to inherit certain assets from you. In either case, it is important to review and update your beneficiaries.
5.Powers of Attorney
Power of attorney documents put an individual in charge of specific decisions in your life if you cannot make those choices. In estate planning, this typically includes medical and financial decisions in the event of your incapacitation. Many people give their spouse power of attorney, and you may not want this after a divorce, as this can give your former spouse significant authority over your life.
FAQs
Q: Does Divorce Affect Estate Plans?
A: Yes, divorce affects estate plans. Your estate plan determines who you want to inherit your assets, and a divorce can change both the assets that you own and your relationships. You want to ensure only the assets you own are in the estate plan and that your estate passes and is managed by the right individuals.
In Kansas, a spouse is automatically disinherited after divorce, and this also applies to documents like wills. If you do not want this to happen, you will have to manually change the will or trust.
Q: What Happens to the House in a Divorce in Kansas?
A: In a divorce in Kansas, a house is a marital asset that is subject to division between spouses. When managed by the court, this division of property is done through equitable division, meaning all marital assets are split fairly based on certain factors in a couple’s marriage.
How a house is managed depends on the circumstances. One spouse may receive it, and the other may receive a proportional amount of other marital assets. The house may also be sold, and the profits may be split. Negotiating a divorce out of court gives spouses more control over property division.
Q: How Is an Inheritance Split in a Divorce?
A: All property that each spouse obtains in Kansas is considered marital property and can be divided, whether it was obtained before or during their marriage. This includes inheritance. If the inheritance was considered separate property prior to filing for divorce, the court is likely to return it to you after division, but this is not guaranteed. You could avoid this by negotiating a separation agreement.
In other states, inheritance given to only one spouse is considered separate property, and is therefore not able to be divided.
Q: Is Kansas a 50/50 Divorce State?
A: No, Kansas is not a 50/50 divorce state. When property is divided by the court, it is divided based on what the court decides is fair and reasonable. While an equitable division could result in an equal 50/50 split, this is uncommon. Often, one spouse will end up with a slightly larger portion of marital assets. The court may consider factors such as:
- The property each spouse owns
- Each spouse’s earning capacity
- Each spouse’s familial responsibilities
- The length of the marriage
- Each spouse’s age
Contact Stange Law Firm in Wichita
For many people, divorce significantly affects their lives in emotional, personal, and financial ways. Estate plans are often created to provide some certainty of the future and can help you regain some stability after a tumultuous event like a divorce. Having legal support can help you create or alter your estate plan to meet your needs. Contact Stange Law Firm to learn how we can help.
