Divorce in Connecticut - Changing Wills,and Beneficiaries

You are contemplating a divorce. There are many aspects to consider – support, property distribution, custody of the children and the list goes on. But what about your Will, Living Will and Power of Attorney? Many spouses leave most, if not all, of their property to their partner. Is this still your intention? Probably not if you’re thinking of divorce. Therefore, you should amend your will. But before you get too excited you can’t completely disinherit your spouse in Connecticut. At a minimum, a spouse is entitled to a 1/3 share of the estate -an elective share. But you would likely agree that 1/3 is better than 100%.

If you created a living will and a health care directive, chances are your spouse was designated as the person authorized to make end of life and other important medical decisions for you. Do you still want him or her to make those types of decisions. Maybe not. Did you create a power of attorney allowing your spouse to sign documents on your behalf? Perhaps this document should be revoked. Now once a divorce is filed, orders automatically take effect preventing spouses from changing beneficiaries. However, after your divorce is over, don’t forget about those beneficiary designations. Is your former spouse still named as the beneficiary on your life insurance, 401K, IRA or pension? The judge may have ordered you to maintain a certain minimum amount of life insurance to secure an alimony award. But after the minimum requirements are satisfied make sure to change the beneficiaries on other policies. If the Family Court ordered a division of retirement accounts, then you should change beneficiaries once the retirement account is divided via a QDRO.

Divorce and Estate Planning in Connecticut

I have vast experience preparing Living Wills. I represent clients in estate planning matters though out Fairfield and New Haven Counties including those who reside in Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford, Greenwich, Shelton, Orange and Milford.

Please email me or call me in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 or in Fairfield at (203) 259-5251 to schedule a consultation concerning the preparation of Estate Planning documents in Connecticut.