Your Life, Your Legacy: Updating Your Estate Plan After a Divorce or Remarriage in Palm Beach County

Life Changes Demand Estate Plan Updates

Life is a journey marked by significant milestones, and few are as transformative as divorce or remarriage. These events fundamentally alter your family structure, your financial relationships, and your vision for the future. Yet, in the whirlwind of emotional and logistical changes, one critical task often gets overlooked: updating your estate plan.


In Palm Beach County, where your assets, family, and future are concerned, relying on outdated documents can lead to unintended—and often costly—consequences. Whether you're navigating the complexities of post-divorce life or blending families in a new marriage, your estate plan must accurately reflect your current wishes.


Alicia Dixon, Founding Attorney at The Dixon Law Firm, is One of Boynton Beach Florida's Top Family and Divorce Attorneys. She is dedicated to providing results for you. We understand that your legal documents are a roadmap for your legacy. This post outlines the crucial steps you must take to secure your assets and protect your loved ones after a change in marital status.


The Critical Need for Action After Divorce

The end of a marriage in Florida triggers an automatic legal review of your estate documents, but the law's protections are not comprehensive. Relying on default rules is a gamble you shouldn't take with your legacy.


The Automatic Revocation Rule: What it Covers

Florida law offers a safeguard: upon the final judgment of divorce or annulment, certain provisions in a pre-existing will or revocable trust that benefit your former spouse are automatically revoked. Specifically:

  • Any gifts or inheritances designated for the ex-spouse in your will are void.
  • Your ex-spouse is automatically removed as your named Personal Representative (Executor) under the will.
  • Your ex-spouse's authority as your agent under a financial Power of Attorney or Healthcare Surrogate Designation is generally revoked.

This law treats your former spouse as though they predeceased you for the purposes of your will. While helpful, this automatic revocation does not complete your new plan—it only creates a gap.


The Critical Gaps: What is NOT Automatic

The biggest risk in post-divorce estate planning is assuming the law did all the work. It didn't. Most notably, the automatic revocation rule typically does not apply to critical assets that pass outside of your will.


Revising Beneficiary Designations

This is arguably the most common and dangerous oversight after a divorce. Beneficiary designations on non-probate assets supersede the instructions in your will. If you fail to update them, your ex-spouse could still inherit:

  • Life Insurance Policies: If they remain the named beneficiary.
  • Retirement Accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s): These are passed directly to the listed beneficiary.
  • Transfer-on-Death (TOD) or Payable-on-Death (POD) Accounts: The listed beneficiary will inherit the funds.

You must contact the financial institution, custodian, or insurance company for each account to formally change your primary and contingent beneficiaries.


Updating Guardianship and Trusts

If you share minor children with your former spouse, you need to designate a new Contingent Legal Guardian in your will. While your ex-spouse will typically retain primary custody, you have the right to nominate who will care for your children if your ex-spouse is unable to do so. Furthermore, if you established a trust for your children, you should review and potentially change the named Trustee to ensure your chosen person manages the assets for your children's benefit.


Estate Planning After Remarriage: Blending Legacies

A new marriage opens a beautiful chapter but introduces a fresh set of estate planning complexities, especially when blending families. Your new spouse has significant rights under Florida law that can easily override an existing, unrevised plan meant to protect children from a prior marriage.


Navigating Spousal Rights and the Elective Share

In Florida, a surviving spouse has powerful statutory rights designed to prevent disinheritance. These rights can fundamentally change the distribution of your assets:

  • The Elective Share: Regardless of what your will or trust says, your surviving spouse has the right to claim 30% of your Elective Estate, which includes probate assets, certain non-probate assets, and even assets held in a revocable trust.
  • Homestead Protection: Florida law provides the surviving spouse with significant rights to your primary residence (Homestead property). This right to occupy or inherit the property can supersede your wishes, especially if you intended to leave the home to your children.


Strategies for Blended Families

The key to planning in a second marriage is to ensure that you provide for your new spouse without unintentionally disinheriting your children from a previous relationship.


The Role of Nuptial Agreements

The most effective way to protect your pre-marital assets and clarify your intentions is through a Prenuptial Agreement (before marriage) or a Postnuptial Agreement (after marriage). In these agreements, you and your new spouse can formally waive your rights to the Florida Elective Share and Homestead property. This waiver is crucial as it allows your estate plan to dictate asset distribution, rather than the state's default rules.


Utilizing Trusts

For blended families, a revocable living trust is often the ideal tool. It can be structured to provide for your surviving spouse for their lifetime while guaranteeing that the remaining assets pass to your children upon the spouse's passing. This approach, often using a structure like a QTIP Trust, gives security to your spouse while ensuring your children’s inheritance is protected.


Protect Your Loved Ones and Your Legacy

Changes in marital status are a clear signal that your estate plan is likely outdated. In Palm Beach County, these changes carry distinct legal implications that demand professional attention. Whether you need to remove an ex-spouse from all decision-making roles, or you need to protect your children’s inheritance while providing for a new spouse, taking action now is essential.


Failing to update your documents after a divorce can leave your ex-spouse in control or inheriting assets you never intended. Failing to update after remarriage can inadvertently disinherit your children. Don’t leave your family’s security to chance.


Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney who understands the nuances of Florida law regarding divorce and remarriage is the most important step you can take to secure your legacy and ensure your true wishes are honored.


Call The Dixon Law Firm today to schedule a comprehensive review of your existing estate plan and gain the peace of mind that your future is protected.