After a divorce, draft a new will, update your executor and beneficiary designations, reconsider your named guardian for minor children, and revisit any trust you have set up. Many states automatically void gifts to a former spouse in an existing will, but you should not rely on that rule alone since it can leave gaps.
Divorce reshapes nearly every part of your financial and family life, and your estate plan is often the last thing anyone thinks about once custody and property division are settled. That is a mistake. An outdated estate plan can leave assets to an ex-spouse, name the wrong executor, or leave your children without the guardian you actually want. Here are the changes divorced parents should make, and why each one matters.
1. Draft a New Will
Failing to write a new will after divorce is the most common and costly mistake. In many states, divorce automatically revokes provisions in a will that favor a former spouse, treating that person as if they died before you, according to Cornell Law School's overview of will revocation, which notes that revocation by operation of law occurs automatically upon events like divorce. That protection is not universal, and it does not fix every problem an old will can cause. If your will named a contingent beneficiary tied to your ex's family, that provision can still stand. The only reliable fix is to write a new will that reflects your actual current wishes.
2. Update Your Executor
If your former spouse was named executor, decide whether that still makes sense. In some cases it does. When Anthony Bourdain died in 2018, he had left most of his assets to his daughter but kept his estranged wife as executor, apparently trusting her to handle the role even though they were separated. That arrangement can work if the relationship stays functional. For most divorced parents, though, naming a neutral party, a sibling, a close friend, or a professional fiduciary, avoids putting your ex in control of decisions that affect your children's inheritance.
3. Update Beneficiary Designations
Life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass directly to whoever is named as beneficiary, regardless of what your will says. If your former spouse is still listed, that person will likely receive the payout. In Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, the Supreme Court held that a retirement plan administrator must pay benefits to whoever is named on the plan's own beneficiary form, even when a divorce decree said otherwise, because federal law requires administrators to follow plan documents rather than outside paperwork. Actor Dennis Hopper removed his young daughter's mother as beneficiary of his life insurance well before his divorce was finalized, which meant she still inherited an equal share of his estate through his trust, just without her mother controlling a lump-sum payout. Review every account with a named beneficiary as soon as your divorce is filed, not after it is finalized.
4. Reconsider Your Trust
If you have a revocable living trust, remove your former spouse as trustee if they were named, and confirm the trust is actually funded with the assets it is supposed to hold. A trust that exists on paper but was never funded provides none of its intended benefits and can force your estate through probate anyway, exposing details you thought were private.
5. Name a Guardian for Minor Children
After divorce, revisit who you want to serve as guardian for your minor children if something happens to you. In most situations, your surviving ex-spouse will retain full custody regardless of what your will says, and that is usually the correct outcome. But you should still name an alternate guardian in case your ex is unable or unwilling to take on that role, or in case something happens to both parents. Actor Paul Walker named his own parents as his daughter's preferred guardians in his will, a decision that mattered because his death was sudden and unexpected.
6. Review and Update Regularly
Walker's will was signed when he was 28 and was never updated again. By the time he died, his named guardians were over a decade older, and he had been in a long-term relationship that his will never addressed. Estate plans go stale. Set a reminder to review yours every few years, and always revisit it after a major life event such as a new relationship, a move, or a change in your children's needs. If you are unsure what terms like trustee, beneficiary, or pour-over will mean, our estate planning glossary can help before you make changes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming state law automatically fixes every reference to your ex-spouse in your old will
- Leaving your former spouse as beneficiary on life insurance or retirement accounts out of inertia
- Creating a trust and never transferring assets into it
- Failing to name an alternate guardian in case your first choice cannot serve
- Signing a will once in your twenties or thirties and never looking at it again
How FastWill Handles This
FastWill's online will builder makes it fast to draft a new will after a major life change like divorce, and to update your executor, guardian, and beneficiary choices whenever your circumstances shift. If your estate plan already includes a trust, our companion guide on updating your will after divorce covers additional document-by-document steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does divorce automatically cancel my ex-spouse's inheritance under my will?
In many states, yes, provisions favoring a former spouse are treated as revoked. Rules vary though, and secondary provisions may still stand, so writing a new will is the safer approach.
Can my ex still get my life insurance payout after we divorce?
Yes, if you never updated the beneficiary designation. Beneficiary forms control regardless of what your will or divorce decree says, so update them separately and promptly.
Will my ex automatically lose custody if I die?
No. Courts typically award full custody to a surviving parent regardless of what your will states, unless there is clear evidence that would not serve the child's best interests.
Do I need to remove my ex from a trust I set up together?
If your ex is named as trustee or beneficiary of a trust you control, review and update those provisions as part of your post-divorce estate plan.
How often should I update my estate plan after divorce?
Update it immediately after the divorce is finalized, and then review it again every few years or after any major life change, such as remarriage or a new child.
