New York Divorce Report - New York's Divorce and Family Law Blog

After the bitter fight to acquire valuable assets in your divorce, you may not want to face your own mortality, but should you die and your ex is still designated as the beneficiary of your life insurance or will, all the litigating and negotiating will have been in vain. Alan Nye in the Maine Divorce Blog offers some sage advice on post divorce estate planning:  Change all the beneficiary designations on your life insurance policies, 401(k) plans, IRAs, and any other accounts that may have had your former spouse designated as a beneficiary.  Revise your will. Make sure that your... More

It is always a good idea after a divorce to update your will or to change the beneficiary designations on your insurance policies and investment accounts. Prior to the divorce it was likely that your wife was your heir or beneficiary. After your divorce, you may not want your ex to benefit from your death. Problems arise when someone dies and their pre-divorce will or beneficiary designation has not been changed and their spouse is the beneficiary. . While a disposition in a will to a former spouse would be  revoked by a divorce or an annulment, until recently a... More

Phil Bernstein, in his New York Probate Litigation Blog, highlights several issues about the impact on divorce on an estate plan. In his post, Phil reminds us of the importance of finalizing the divorce settlement as soon as practicable. There is probably no matrimonial lawyer who has spent substantial time in practice who has not had to deal with the disaster which occurs when a client dies before the entry of a divorce decree or the execution of a stipulation of settlement or separation agreement providing for the couple disinheriting each other. When that happens, as Ms. Hamill so aptly... More