Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

I have been practicing family law in Michigan since 1996 so many of my friends and family ask me questions about divorce law and how it would affect them if they were to get divorced.  Recently a friend asked me if he would have to get a new estate plan or trust and will after he got divorced or whether he would at least need to get those documents redrafted,  This blog is written to generally address that question, if you have specific questions regarding this issue or any aspect of divorce in Michigan, please schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.

Will I Need A New Estate Plan (Will or Trust) After I Get Divorced?

The answer in this instance is pretty simple, yes you should have those documents redrafted or updated after you get divorced.  There are several reasons for this but primarily because by law if you named your ex-spouse as a beneficiary, that election will be null and void and the estate will have to go to probate.  This is not good because of the time and expense involved with having to probate the estate and because it essentially defeats the point of having an estate plan in the first place. 

However the reasoning behind this is fair and understandable.  It starts with the assumption that the person who originally named the ex-spouse as a beneficiary did so when they were married and simply forgot to remove that person as a beneficiary or administrator/executor after the divorce. This stops the ex-spouse from receiving any benefits from the estate.  In most cases the decedent really does not intend or want the ex-spouse to receive this benefit at their death, so this law avoids that unintended consequence but essentially voids the estate plan.

This means that if you have an estate plan and get divorced, once the divorce is final, you will need to get your estate plan updated.  At this point you could rename the ex-spouse as a beneficiary (if you wanted to or agreed to as part of the divorce) and that will be valid. 

This is just one small aspect of handling a divorce in Michigan, if you have concerns regarding your own future, please do not hesitate to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.