You’re going to have a lot of paperwork to deal with when getting divorced in California, so it can be easy to overlook little things. One job you want to make sure you get taken care of, though, is changing your will. It may be best to do this during the divorce process, so that it’s set in stone, but you at least want to do it by the time the divorce is finalized. There are many reasons why, including the following:
1. You want to take your spouse out. This is the most obvious, but it’s worth stating because there have been cases where people got divorced, split up their assets, and then one spouse died without changing his or her will — giving all of those assets right back.
2. Your kids need to be protected. If you have children, it’s not just about stopping your spouse from getting your assets. You also want to make sure that the assets do go to your children. This is especially true if you’ve been married multiple times and have children from each marriage.
3. Your new relationship may need to be added. Remember, you may not be single forever. If you have a new person in your life, you may want to make sure he or she gets a portion of your assets. This becomes very important if you’re seeing someone seriously, on a long-term basis, but you don’t officially want to get married again. That person may have no claim unless he or she is in the will.
Changing a will is not hard, but it’s important to know how to do it officially so that it holds up in court.
Source: FIndLaw, “Changing Your Will After a Divorce,” accessed July 01, 2016
