DIVORCE AND MARITAL SEPARATION IMPACTING THE ESTATE PLAN

A marital separation or divorce is not necessarily completed when the associated legal papers are signed and/or submitted to court, especially when there is a child support provision. Instead, such a scenario can give rise to considerable complexity which must be accounted for in the preparation and drafting of one's will and estate plan. As such, it is important that due consideration is given to the legal implications of the existing legal covenants and obligations arising from the divorce or separation, and how they impact and complicate the estate planning process.

By appropriately accounting for those aspects of the marital separation or divorce in the structuring of the estate plan, it is possible to better optimize the money available for distribution to one's beneficiaries. Given the unique structure of those pre-existing legal arrangements,  an appropriate undertstanding of its particular demands and complexities must be ascertained and addressed in formulating the structure in light of one's situation and what is intended to be achieved in the future.