The loss of a spouse is one of the most significant saddest events in the lives of many. While you will undoubtedly take time to grieve, there are also adjustments to be made to your estate plan as a result of your spouse’s passing. The following examines what considerations you need to make should you find yourself in this situation.
What to Consider When Your Spouse Passes Away
While the situation may be hectic following your spouse’s death, there are several key considerations you will want to make in regard to your estate plan. These include:
- Updating your beneficiaries
- Updating your will
- Updating your trust
- Updating your power of attorney
Updating your beneficiaries: What to know
It is highly likely that your spouse is listed as a beneficiary on most, if not all, documents. With this in mind, you will want to update your beneficiaries and select those who you will want to inherit your assets. If you do not do so, the fate of your assets could end up in the hands of the court system – a scenario you will very likely want to avoid.
Updating your beneficiaries goes for all documents, including any insurance policies that you may hold. You will want to be very diligent in making sure that all your beneficiary designations are up to date following your spouse’s death.
Updating your will: What to know
As explained above, your spouse is very likely a beneficiary in your will and you want to update the will accordingly after their death. However, in some cases, married couples have joint wills – a single will that is created by both parties. In this instance, the joint will cannot be modified following the passing of one of the partners.
Updating your trust: What to know
Depending on the type of trust you create, or that you and your spouse create together, you may or may not be able to update it following their death. For example, if you have a revocable living trust, you can make adjustments to it after your spouse’s death, whereas, on the other hand, if you have a irrevocable trust, you may not be able to make any modifications either during you and your spouse’s lifetime or after your spouse passes away.
Updating your power of attorney: What to know
Your power of attorney documents can give the person you choose access to manage your financial and/or health decisions should you become unable to do so yourself. In many cases, individuals select their spouse to hold this role. Should your spouse pass away before you do, however, you will need to update your power of attorney documents to ensure that the person holding this role is someone you trust will act in your best interests when the time comes.
For any questions and assistance regarding the creation or updating of your estate planning documents, or any of your other estate planning needs, we are here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can work with you.
For more information regarding various estate planning and elder law topics, view our resources page, where you will be able to find previous blog articles, newsletters and our informative webinar series.
