How Divorce Impacts Estate Plans in California: What You Should Update Immediately

When a marriage ends, few people think about how their estate plan is affected—but the impact can be significant. From wills and trusts to beneficiary designations, divorce can alter your intentions in ways that may not align with your current wishes—unless you update your documents accordingly.

Certain automatic changes occur in California during and after divorce, but they don’t cover everything. Knowing what to update—and when—can help protect your legacy, minimize legal complications, and give you peace of mind as you move forward.

What Automatically Changes When You Divorce in California?

California law automatically revokes some aspects of your estate plan once your divorce is finalized. For example:

• Spousal gifts in wills and trusts are generally invalidated unless explicitly stated otherwise.

• Powers of attorney and healthcare directives naming your ex-spouse as an agent are usually revoked.

However, these changes only take effect after the divorce is legally finalized. During separation, those provisions often remain valid. If something unexpected happens during the divorce process, your ex-spouse could still have legal authority or receive assets.

What Needs Your Immediate Attention?

To ensure your estate plan reflects your current wishes, there are key documents you should review and update:

1. Will and Trust Documents

Your will likely names your ex-spouse as a primary beneficiary or executor. If that no longer aligns with your intentions, revise it as soon as possible.

Similarly, if you created a joint or revocable living trust during marriage, you’ll need to:

• Create a new trust if needed

• Remove your ex-spouse as trustee or beneficiary

• Reassign assets appropriately

2. Beneficiary Designations

Assets like retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and payable-on-death bank accounts aren’t governed by your will. These are distributed directly to the named beneficiaries.

It’s crucial to update these designations:

• IRA and 401(k) accounts

• Life insurance policies

• Brokerage and investment accounts

3. Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives

If your ex-spouse is listed as your agent for financial or medical decisions, that authority generally remains in place until the divorce is final—unless you change it. To avoid confusion or conflict:

• Revoke old powers of attorney

• Create new ones with trusted individuals

4. Guardianship Provisions (if applicable)

If you have minor children, your estate plan might name your ex-spouse or someone else as a guardian. While courts ultimately decide custody and guardianship, your wishes can still carry weight—especially in the event of your death.

Review your guardianship designations and ensure they align with your post-divorce intentions.

Common Oversights That Can Cause Problems Later

Even well-intentioned people overlook critical updates. These are some of the most common missteps:

• Forgetting to change retirement account beneficiaries could unintentionally leave significant funds to an ex-spouse.

• Failing to update a pour-over will associated with a trust, resulting in outdated asset transfers.

• Assuming a divorce decree alone will nullify beneficiary designations—it doesn’t.

Avoiding these pitfalls can help ensure your estate plan supports your goals—not outdated assumptions.

Why Timing Matters

You don’t have to wait to update certain documents until your divorce is finalized. In fact, making changes proactively can help:

• Avoid accidental distributions

• Prevent unwanted legal authority being granted

• Reflect your current intentions immediately

Some updates—such as changing trust terms—may need to be handled carefully to avoid violating temporary restraining orders common in divorce proceedings. To time things appropriately, it’s best to work with both your divorce attorney and an estate planning professional.

Coordinating Family Law and Estate Planning

It’s easy to compartmentalize divorce and estate planning, but they’re often deeply connected. Coordinating these areas ensures that your financial decisions during divorce don’t conflict with your long-term legacy goals.

James Chau, a Certified Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, understands how critical these updates are. Whether removing your ex-spouse from legal authority or reassessing how your children are provided for, his experience clarifies a complex process.

Move Forward With Confidence

Divorce can be disorienting, but your estate plan doesn’t have to add to the stress. Taking time to update the right documents ensures your assets, health decisions, and family are protected on your terms.

If you're going through a divorce or recently finalized one, let’s ensure your estate plan keeps pace. Call 408-899-8364 or visit our contact page to schedule a confidential consultation.