Estate Planning After Divorce in New Jersey
- scottglatstianesq
- Mar 5
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 23
Divorce changes more than your marital status. It can also affect how your assets are managed, who makes decisions for you, and who inherits your property.
Many people assume that once a divorce is finalized their estate plan automatically adjusts. In reality, some documents may change under New Jersey law while others remain exactly the same unless you update them.
If you’ve recently gone through a divorce, reviewing your estate plan with a New Jersey estate planning attorney is an important step to make sure your wishes are properly reflected and that the right people are named to benefit from your estate and assist you when needed.
Why Divorce Should Trigger an Estate Plan Review
Divorce is one of the most important life events that should prompt a review of your estate planning documents.
During a marriage, many people name their spouse in key roles such as executor, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney. Once the marriage ends, those choices may no longer reflect your intentions or your current relationships. In addition, it’s important to review any accounts where a former spouse may have been named as a pay-on-death beneficiary – as this is where many unforeseen issues occur following a divorce.
Updating your estate plan after a divorce helps ensure that the people you trust are the ones responsible for handling your affairs.
What Divorce Automatically Changes Under New Jersey Law
New Jersey has a revocation-by-divorce statute that generally treats an ex-spouse as having predeceased you for many will provisions.
For example, if a will leaves property to a spouse or names that spouse as executor, those provisions are typically treated as if the former spouse predeceased you after the divorce.
However, this rule does not update every estate planning document and it does not automatically create a new plan that reflects your current wishes. In addition, depending on how your estate plan is worded, certain provisions favoring an ex-spouse can survive a divorce and remain in effect.
Because of these limitations, relying on automatic changes alone can leave significant gaps in your planning.
Documents That Should Be Updated After Divorce
It’s usually advisable to review and update several core estate planning documents after a divorce. The chart below provides a brief overview of some of the documents that should be reviewed:
Document | Suggested Items to Review | Reason for Review |
Executor, beneficiaries, guardians for minor children, distribution instructions
| Divorce may automatically revoke gifts to a former spouse, but the document may still contain outdated provisions or fiduciary appointments that no longer reflect your wishes. | |
Named agent, successor agents, scope of authority | Many married couples name each other to manage financial matters. After divorce, you may want someone else handling financial decisions if you become incapacitated. | |
Health care representative, successor decision makers, end-of-life preferences | If a former spouse was previously named to make medical decisions, you may want to designate another trusted person instead. | |
Trustee and successor trustee, beneficiaries, distribution terms | Trusts created during marriage may no longer align with your current goals or family structure and should be reviewed after divorce. | |
Beneficiary Designations | Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, payable on death accounts | These assets pass according to the beneficiary form rather than your will, so they must be updated directly with the financial institution to reflect your current intentions. |
It is worth noting that New Jersey law generally revokes an ex-spouse’s appointment as your health care representative after divorce unless your documents explicitly state otherwise, but it’s still worth reviewing the document to ensure that the right person is named in their stead.
Beneficiary Designations Are Often Overlooked
One of the most common issues after divorce involves beneficiary designations.
Assets such as retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and payable on death bank accounts pass according to the beneficiary listed on the account rather than the terms of your will.
In many cases, New Jersey law may treat an ex-spouse beneficiary designation as revoked after divorce, but there are important exceptions. For example, some employer retirement plans governed by federal ERISA rules may still pay the person named on the account unless the designation is updated, meaning that even if your will excludes your ex-spouse, the asset may still pass to them.
Reviewing these designations is an essential step to ensure that these accounts pass to the people you intend. When you work with me, we’ll review your entire financial portfolio and ensure that everything aligns with your current wishes.
Planning for Minor Children
For parents of minor children, estate planning after divorce also involves careful consideration of how assets will be managed for those children.
A common concern clients raise after a divorce can be summarized as follows:
“I’m afraid that if something happens to me my ex will get control over my kid’s inheritance.”
This is not an unfounded concern. Generally speaking, if one parent dies and the other parent is available and willing, they will become the guardian of their shared minor children. Absent the proper estate planning, the ex-spouse would then be in a position to use your children’s inheritance “for the benefit of the children.”
But what does that mean? Can they buy themselves a car to drive the kids to school? Probably. Can it be a $100,000 sports car? Even when court supervision is required, many parents prefer to put clear guardrails in place by using a trust and appointing a trustee of their choosing.
In the prior scenario, if this sort of plan were in place, your ex would need to call the children’s trustee and ask for their permission to purchase a vehicle to drive the children to school, and the reasonableness of the cost of that vehicle will be determined by your trustee, not your ex. This is an incredibly valuable tool to have in your pocket following a divorce when minor children are involved.
When to Review Your Estate Plan
The period immediately following a divorce is an appropriate time to review your estate planning documents and confirm that they reflect your current wishes.
Even if you already have a will and related documents in place, those documents may have been prepared when your circumstances were very different.
Taking the time to update your plan can provide clarity and avoid unnecessary complications in the future. It can be difficult to jump right into this after going through a divorce, but the relief you’ll feel from knowing you’ve covered all your bases is worth the effort.
Conclusion
Divorce often represents a major transition in both personal and financial life. Updating your estate plan during this period helps ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that the people you trust are responsible for handling important decisions.
If you’ve recently finalized a divorce, reviewing your estate planning documents can be an important step in moving forward with confidence. The best way to evaluate your circumstances is by scheduling a free consultation where we can review your situation and discuss the options available to you.
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