The divorce process can be long and expensive. However, the work does not end once the divorce decree is signed. To ensure that your wishes for your money, property, and estate plan are carried out in light of this major life change, there are three things you must do as soon as possible.

Consider the following story: Beth’s divorce from her husband was recently finalized. The most valuable things she owns are her employer-sponsored retirement plan and her life insurance policy. She has opted to use the beneficiary designations as her only form of estate planning and updated the primary beneficiary designations to name her two minor children. She does not want her ex-husband to receive the money.

While the term fiduciary is a legal term with a rich history, it generally means someone who is legally obligated to act in another person’s best interest. Trustees, executors, and agents are examples of fiduciaries. When you select people to fill these roles in your estate plan, you are picking one or more people to make decisions in the best interests of you and your beneficiaries and in accordance with the instructions you leave. You should also choose multiple backups for each of these roles in case your first choice is unable or unwilling to act when the time comes.

We know it is difficult, even horrific, to imagine someone else raising your children. However, you must consider who you would choose to fill this important role. Otherwise, a judge—a stranger who does not know you or your wishes, your child, or your relatives and friends—will determine who raises your children if something happens to you. Depending on state law, your children’s guardian could be a relative you do not get along with or, less commonly, a stranger you have never met. 

People often set up bank accounts or real estate so that they own them jointly with a spouse or other family member. The appeal of joint ownership, specifically with survivorship rights, is that when one owner dies, the other owner(s) will automatically inherit the property without it having to go through probate. Also, joint property ownership is easy to set up. It can be established at the bank when opening an account, through the title company when buying real estate, or, in some cases, after creating an account or purchasing real estate.