Estate Planning Should be a Part of Divorce Planning

By Alesia Pinney, JD, MT, Co-Founder, Legata

Deciding to divorce can be painful and disorienting, creating a less-than-ideal headspace for making big financial decisions. During a divorce, it’s not uncommon for smart people to make financial choices that they regret, simply because their emotions took center stage.

One of the best moves you can make during divorce is to separate the emotional work from the financial work. The emotional side of divorce is real and deserves care. Working with a counselor or therapist can be helpful in processing stress and big emotions. At the same time, your finances still need clear thinking and steady attention. Treat them with the same intention and discipline you would at any other major life transition.

That’s where estate planning comes in.

Divorce reshapes your legal, financial, and personal relationships, but your estate plan doesn’t reflect these changes automatically. Until your documents are updated, your current plan may still give a soon-to-be-former spouse authority, control, or financial benefits that no longer reflect your wishes. Estate planning during divorce is an important move to make when it comes to staying in control and protecting yourself.

Additionally, divorce can take months or even years to finalize. During this time, life goes on. Illness, incapacity, or even death can happen unexpectedly. Throughout the separation process ask yourself: do you really want your spouse to retain the legal right to make medical decisions for you, act under a financial power of attorney, serve as executor, trustee, or agent, or inherit assets under outdated estate planning documents or beneficiary designations?

Thoughtful estate planning gives you options. It allows you to appoint people you trust to make medical and financial decisions, ensures assets are managed responsibly if something happens mid-divorce, and reduces uncertainty and conflict during an already stressful time.

Once your divorce is finalized, your estate plan will likely need another update. Many divorce settlements include ongoing financial obligations, such as life insurance requirements to secure support, trusts for children, or formal waivers of inheritance rights. Your estate plan should reflect those new realities clearly and accurately.

With Legata’s Living Estate Plan^(tm), you only pay once to create your estate plan. As big life changes like divorce occur, subscribers can revise their plan at no additional charge and without the hassle of having to start over from scratch.

Timely, thoughtful estate planning during and after divorce helps ensure your intentions are clear, your interests are protected, and your plan accurately reflects your life trajectory.

Legata, is the first comprehensive online platform built by leading lawyers and tech experts. They’ve created a fast, easy, and affordable way to create and manage your own estate plan. Visit them at Legata.com