If you’ve separated from your spouse and considering a divorce, you need to make sure that your assets are protected. A divorce lawyer in Rockford, IL can review your estate to see what needs to be rewritten to make sure that your ex-spouse will not be left any assets after you’ve passed away. Here are some of the documents that he or she will review to make sure that you and a future spouse and/or your children will be protected per your wishes.
Your Will
When you were happily married, you probably named your spouse in your will as the main beneficiary. Now that you’re considering divorce, you should change your designations. If you live close to Rockford, an attorney with Hampilos & Associates, Ltd. will advise you that if the divorce proceedings have begun, you will need to wait until after the divorce is final to change the beneficiaries in your will.
Financial Accounts
Your divorce lawyer can also have an estate planning lawyer review any financial accounts such as bank accounts, insurance plans, annuities, and investments that you have to make sure that you change the beneficiaries on those accounts. If you forget to change them and you pass on, then anyone named as a beneficiary, including an ex-spouse, will get the money. Changing your beneficiaries on most accounts is simply a matter of filling out paperwork to update the designations.
Living Trust
If you and/or your spouse have a trust to prevent the assets in your wills from going into probate, a probate lawyer and a trust lawyer can help you renegotiate terms of the trust as part of the divorce settlement. If you cannot agree on how to redo the trust, then the court may need to make decisions for you. A divorce lawyer can help make sure that your assets do not go to your ex-spouse after you pass away.
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