Why Every Divorcing Parent Needs an Estate Plan
Most people think estate planning is something you do when you get old.
Gray hair. Rocking chairs. Porch swings.
That thinking gets people in trouble.
Because divorce does not just change who you live with. It changes who can make decisions for you, who controls your money, and who speaks for your children if something happens to you.
And if you do nothing, the law decides for you.
Not your intentions.
Not your wishes.
Not what you “meant to fix later.”
Divorce Breaks More Than Marriages
When you file for divorce, everything you thought you had set up quietly stops working the way you think it does.
Old powers of attorney may still point at the wrong person.
Health care decisions may still default to the wrong person.
Beneficiary designations may still benefit the wrong person.
Your kids may be left without the protection you assume they have.
I have watched families walk into court stunned to learn that the person they were divorcing still had legal authority over their money, their medical care, or their property.
Nobody plans for that.
But the law does.
If You Have Kids, This Matters Even More
If you have minor children, your estate plan is not about money. It is about control.
Who raises your kids if you die.
Who handles their finances.
Who keeps your former spouse from having unchecked control if something happens to you.
Courts do not guess. They follow paperwork.
And if the paperwork is missing, outdated, or vague, the court fills in the blanks.
Not always in the way you would choose.
The Four Documents That Quietly Protect Your Life
A basic estate plan is not complicated, but it is powerful.
A will tells the court where your property goes and who manages your children’s inheritance.
A power of attorney names who can handle your money if you cannot.
A health care power of attorney names who speaks for you medically.
A living will tells doctors what to do when you cannot speak for yourself.
These documents do not feel urgent.
Until they suddenly are.
Lawyer Bill’s Advice
Divorce rearranges your entire legal life.
Do not let your paperwork lag behind your reality.
Because if something happens to you tomorrow, the court will not ask what you intended.
It will follow what you signed.
And the wrong signature can put the wrong person in charge of everything you were trying to protect.
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