• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia

Long Island Estate Planning Attorneys

ESTATE, TRUST PLANNING &
ELDER LAW INFORMATION CENTER

Call Now: (800) 295.1917

  • Attend Our Free Webinars
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Client Testimonials
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Blended Family Planning
    • Elder Law
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Guardianship
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Nursing Home Planning
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Commack Elder Law
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Harrison Elder Law
      • Hauppauge Elder Law
      • Rockville Centre Elder Law
      • White Plains Elder Law
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • FREE Seminars
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Elder Law
      • Estate Planning
      • Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Is My Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Legacy Wealth Planning Consultation Form
    • Medicaid Resources
    • Probate Resources
      • Harrison Probate
      • Hauppauge Probate
      • Long Island Probate
    • Probate Checklist
    • Special Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning for Niches
      • Trust Administration
    • Top Estate Planning Techniques
  • Communities We Serve
    • Nassau County
      • Garden City
      • Lynbrook
      • Malverne
      • Rockville Centre
    • Suffolk County
      • Commack
      • Dix Hills
      • Hauppauge
      • Nesconset
      • Smithtown
    • Westchester County
      • Harrison
      • Mamaroneck
      • Rye Brook
      • White Plains
  • Webinars
  • BLOG
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Contact Us
Home » Estate Planning Articles » Is Your Ex-Spouse Really Out of Your Life?

Is Your Ex-Spouse Really Out of Your Life?

July 31, 2011 by Saul Kobrick

Compliments of Our Law Firm,
By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

Divorce is a fact of modern American life.  Approximately half of all first marriages fail, and the divorce rate for subsequent marriages can be as high as 73 percent. While divorce is commonplace, it’s not uncommon to overlook some important legal ramifications of splitting from your spouse.

For instance, suppose you have been divorced for several years, are happily remarried, and have children with your new spouse. While you probably made sure that your bank accounts and credit cards were appropriately renamed following the split from your first spouse, did you review your estate planning documents with a qualified estate planning attorney? If not, in the unfortunate event that you become ill or disabled, your new life partner may have to deal with more than just the emotional pain of your physical condition. If you failed to revise your Health Care Power of Attorney to remove your former spouse as Agent, and you are deemed incapable of making your own health care decisions, your physician may be obligated to turn to your ex to make critical choices.  This is unlikely to be a happy scenario for anyone involved, particularly your already suffering spouse and children.

The scenario is equally disturbing if you pass away before you have examined your retirement plan in light of your divorce and subsequent remarriage. Your new partner, already devastated by their bereavement, will have to bear the financial and emotional strain of watching the assets in your 401(k) plan go to your former spouse because you failed to change the beneficiary designation on the plan.  While divorce may end certain designations or bequests to your ex, it does not do so with 401(k) and other qualified plan assets.

Even if you’ve updated your Health Care Power of Attorney and changed the beneficiary designation on your 401(k), you still may not be in the clear. Did you make bequests to your ex-spouse in your estate planning documents?  If so, your state laws may or may not invalidate these bequests when a divorce occurs.  If they are invalidated and these assets then go to your children, your former spouse may still remain as the Trustee, effectively keeping control of your financial resources.

Make sure you consult an experienced estate planning attorney to revise your estate plan and remove your ex-spouse as Agent, Beneficiary, Trustee, or any other legal role in which your outdated estate planning documents may have placed him or her. Also, your estate planning attorney can help you designate appropriate new people, to serve in place of your ex.

Primary Sidebar

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia

Download our free estate planning worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

GARDEN CITY

1305 Franklin Avenue Suite 170
Garden City, NY 11530
United States (US)
Phone: (516) 248-9500
Fax: (516) 248-7606

HAUPPAUGE

150 Motor Parkway Suite 401 (Regus)
Hauppauge, NY 11788
United States (US)
Phone: (631) 941-3400
Fax: (516) 248-7606

HARRISON

600 Mamaroneck Avenue, 4th Floor
Harrison, NY 10528
United States (US)
Phone: (914) 701-0777
Fax: (516) 248-7606

MAP

kobrick_sidbr_map

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Footer

footer-logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The information on this Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Kobrick and Moccia, Attorneys at Law. Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia
Attorney Advertisement
© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.