When it comes to marriage in America, things aren’t looking so great. According to the American Psychological Association, between 40% and 50% of first marriages end in divorce. And even after you get divorced, you still can’t catch a break, with second and third marriages having even higher rates (67% and 74%, respectively). These gloomy statistics back up a lot of real-world concerns when it comes to divorcing; first and foremost, what happens to your stuff? When you’re considering getting a divorce, you should definitely consult with an estate planning attorney. There are several reasons for this, as there are quite a few documents that will likely be affected by the divorce. 

Divorce tends to sever joint ownership, and it also makes things tricky for property ownership, guardianship, and beneficiaries of your estate—and that’s if the divorce goes smoothly. Here are some reasons why you should talk to an estate planning attorney when considering divorce. 

Title Problems 

You and your spouse may have jointly owned property or assets. After your divorce, that connection is severed. Only one spouse will own the property. Take the home, for example. If you don’t want to co-own the house, the court might decide in favor of you or your spouse when considering where your house goes. The court will look to multiple factors to make this decision, such as each of your financial circumstances, contributions to the home (like additions, renovations, who uses it more), age, health, custody arrangements, and more. A judge can award the ownership of the house as part of a divorce agreement. 

Estate planning often concerns your house and what will happen to it after you’re gone. If you’re not going to have title to your home anymore as a result of divorce, it’s in your best interest to meet with an estate planner to reflect that change in your documents. 

Who’s Your Power of Attorney? 

Is your ex-spouse still your power of attorney? The power of attorney is the person who makes financial and legal decisions for you in the event that you’re too sick or injured to do so yourself. Your divorce might be a friendly split, but it’s doubtful that you’ll still want your ex to be your power of attorney. Worst case scenario, the divorce is nowhere near amicable, and you’ve just put a hostile party in a very powerful position that can have a lot of effects on your life. Changing your power of attorney is as easy as meeting with an estate planner, luckily.

Your Kids 

Custody arrangements are hammered out by the court, but custody of your kids can change your estate plan. You may want to start a trust for your kids or a 529 college-savings plan. If you find that arrangements for your children have altered the way in which you’re going to work them into your estate plan, you should meet with an attorney to reflect those changes.

The Upside 

Luckily, changing your estate plan papers is easy to do and very quick. While your divorce might be dragging on and miserable, rest assured that this won’t be a painful process, and you’ll be able to easily make new arrangements and adjust others for your convenience. 

Divorce is, unfortunately, very prevalent in today’s society, and that has created a wide range of estate planning issues. Even if your split is amicable, you still want to make sure that you know what your divorce will change and how it will affect your estate plans. Consult with an attorney to make this painful process run smoothly in at least one area. 

When it comes to our kids, we know that there’s nothing we wouldn’t do to ensure that they’re safe and happy. Legal mechanisms like estate planning allow you to give your kids the surety that, in the event something happens to you, they will be protected. Within the estate planning toolbox, there are two tools that will protect your kids: the trust and the guardianship papers. Both help you plan for any possible eventuality, and both will give you and your whole family peace of mind.

In addition to a trust, choosing the best guardian for your kids is a must-do for anyone with minor children who is looking into estate planning. This involves careful thought and preparation, and we will give you some advice on choosing the best guardian for your kids. But first, let’s see how we define a trust.

What is a Trust? 

When you hear the phrase “Trust Fund Kid,” you might think of negative connotations, like the spoiled rich kids that are classic movie villain tropes. However, trusts aren’t just for people with tons of money. A trust is a three-party relationship that is fiduciary in nature. You, the trustor/donor, give nominal title to a trustee, who then holds title until you tell them to grant it to your beneficiary (in this case, your kids). This trust can hold many different things, including cash, stocks, bonds, or even property. The beneficiary can access the trust when they reach 18 (or 21, depending on your instructions). 

By forming a trust for your kid, you ensure that you will be able to financially support them in at least some respect once they reach adulthood. The trust grants financial security, and you don’t need to put millions in there to help your kids. 

Guardianship for Your Kids 

In addition to the financial security a trust brings, guardianship papers are a must-have for anyone who is estate planning with minor children. Even if your children are 17 and have almost reached adulthood, it can’t hurt to include guardianship, as you never know what can happen. Once you’ve made your selection, talk to your proposed guardian. If they agree, make sure to officialize it in your estate plan. 

Here are some considerations when choosing the best guardian for your kids.

Consider Overall Values 

We all have an idea of how we want to raise our kids and the values we want to instill in them. It doesn’t matter where these values come from—religion, family tradition, etc.—what matters is that they’re important to you. Draw up a list of general values you want a guardian to have. This will get your list going in the right direction. 

Think About Day-to-Day Life 

In sum, it’s really about what your kids will be doing each day of their life with their guardian. School, homework, work, planning for college—all these activities matter in the short- and long-term. When you’re considering a guardian, think about how your child’s day will go with them and whether it will be a stable environment for them to come home to each day.

Talk to Your Prospective Guardians 

You may have the perfect person in mind, but don’t forget: you need to ask their permission first. Talk to your guardian about your proposed role for them. Make sure they’re on the same page in terms of child-raising. 

While no one ever wants to think about negative potential life events, it never hurts to be prepared. In addition to a trust, choosing guardianship for your minor children in the event that something happens is the best way to ensure that, even in the worst case scenario, your kids will be protected and have the best chance possible at a great life. 

It’s not uncommon to think of a last will and testament as being something that belongs to an elderly person who is in their last years. But actually, there is no specification saying you have to be old or dying to write a will and, in fact, you should consider writing one once you’ve reached adulthood. Anyone older than eighteen can make a will. (Someone who is younger than eighteen can’t form a will that is considered valid unless they meet certain circumstances, such as marriage and court approval). 

When making a will, it isn’t about age, it’s about capacity. So, when asking, “How young do you have to be to consider a will?” the answer is eighteen or over, as long as you’re able to understand and approve what you’re doing. 

Testamentary Capacity 

Regarding someone’s mental state, substantive law has a few requirements for those seeking to make a will. An individual who is eighteen or older needs to have what’s called “testamentary capacity.” Testamentary capacity means that the person is of sound (or disposing) mind, memory, and understanding at the time that he or she makes the will.

Someone has testamentary capacity if they (1) understand what a will is, (2) understand, in at least general terms, the type of property and the amount of property that they are disposing, and (3) have the capacity to consider moral claims when deciding who they want to leave their property to. 

Lastly, the will’s maker needs to know the contents of their will and approve of them. If the age and capacity requirement is met, you can make a valid will, whether you’re young and off to college or elderly and nearing the end of your life. 

Why Young People Need Wills

At eighteen, you might not have much of an estate. However, “not much of an estate” is still an estate, even if there are just a few things in it. You likely have at least some things in your name, whether it’s your car, laptop, clothing, and other personal effects. If something were to happen to you, however unlikely that might seem, you would want to make sure your parents knew what to do with your things. Plus, making your will when you’re young ensures that you’re at your peak capacity to understand. You don’t want to be old and sick before trying to tackle this process. 

What a Will Can Include 

A will includes instructions for where you want your assets to go after you pass away. An estate plan in general, however, can include much more than that, such as a healthcare directive and power of attorney, both of which are very important. These documents provide instructions on what to do with your finances and health decisions if you’re too sick to make them yourself. Designating your parent (or whoever) as your power of attorney will ensure that your things are taken care of until you’re back on your feet. When you’re creating your will, consider creating those two documents as well. An estate planner will help you through the process. 

It might be tempting to go online to a legal document site and create these yourself, but that almost always leads to things being forgotten or left out or minor technicalities arising that could wind up costing your family a lot in court fees to solve. It’s best to consult with a lawyer to make sure it’s done right the first time. 

Everyone young thinks they’re going to live forever, and, in almost all cases, they usually have a long time before they’re going to even need to use their estate plan. However, that doesn’t mean that they should neglect to make a will. Even something simple will offer protection in the worst case scenario, and estate planning in general provides protection in a variety of circumstances.