How Marriage, Divorce, Birth, or Death Can Affect Your Estate Plan

July 1, 2025
Paramus Estate Planning

Life Events That Impact Your Estate Plan

Your estate plan is designed to reflect your wishes and protect your loved ones, but it’s not a one-and-done process. Major life events—like marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or the death of a beneficiary—can significantly impact the effectiveness and legal accuracy of your estate planning documents. Without timely updates, your plan may no longer reflect your intentions, or worse, may result in unintended outcomes.

When life changes, your estate plan should too. Whether you’re getting married, going through a divorce, welcoming a new child, or grieving the loss of a loved one, these events can significantly affect your Will, Trust, power of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations.

In this article, we’ll explore how each of these common life events can impact your estate planning documents – your Will, Trust, power of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations – and why regular updates are essential.

1. Marriage and Your Estate Plan

Wills and Trusts After Marriage

In many states, a spouse married after a Will or Trust is created may still have inheritance rights as an “omitted spouse” or “pretermitted spouse”. If you haven’t updated your estate plan to include your new spouse, state law may override your existing documents.  In many states, the omitted spouse is entitled to the same share that the spouse would have received if you did not have a Will or Trust, which is typically half the augmented estate.

Even if the omitted spouse is not entitled to that share of the estate, without a prenuptial agreement a surviving spouse is entitled to an “elective share”, which in New York and New Jersey is 1/3rd of the augmented estate.

The augmented estate includes not just the assets going through probate, but also testamentary substitutes, such as beneficiary designations, trusts, rights of survivorship, and certain gifts – all of which can be clawed back by the surviving spouse.

Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directives

Marriage does not automatically give your spouse the authority to manage your finances or make medical decisions. Without updating these legal documents, your spouse may be left out entirely.

Beneficiary Designations

Beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, and financial accounts do not change automatically upon marriage. If your spouse isn’t listed, they may receive nothing—or you may unintentionally leave assets to someone else.

Takeaway: After marriage, review and update your entire estate plan, including who has authority under your documents and who is designated to inherit your assets.

2. How Divorce Affects Your Estate Planning Documents

Wills and Trusts Post-Divorce

In most states, a divorce revokes provisions in a Will or Trust that benefit a former spouse. This means that if your Will or Trust leaves assets to your former spouse, those provisions may be treated as if your ex has predeceased you. However, this doesn’t always extend to successor trustees, executors, or other roles. Update your documents to prevent confusion or disputes.

Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Authorizations

Divorce does not automatically revoke a former spouse’s authority under a power of attorney or healthcare directive. If you don’t want your ex-spouse making medical or financial decisions for you, you must revoke and replace these documents.

Beneficiary Designations After Divorce

Designated beneficiaries on IRAs, 401(k)s, and life insurance policies often stay in place unless manually changed. In some cases—especially with ERISA-regulated plans—your ex-spouse could still inherit unless the form is updated.

Takeaway: Divorce is a critical trigger for a comprehensive estate plan update. Update all documents and beneficiary designations to reflect your new intentions.

3. The Birth or Adoption of a Child: Estate Planning Considerations

Wills and Trusts for New Children

If your child is born or adopted after your estate plan is created, the results depend on state law.  In New York and New Jersey, if you have no other children, that child is entitled to the same share they would have received if you had died without a Will.  If you do have other children and disinherited them all, the later-born child will also be disinherited.  But if one or more of the earlier-born children is entitled to a share of your estate, so will the newly born child.

Regardless of the share your child may or may not receive, you should update your estate plan to include (or specifically disinherit) the new child and name guardians in the event both parents pass away.

Beneficiary Designations

Children are not automatically added to insurance or retirement account beneficiary lists, these need to be updated manually. And naming a minor directly can trigger court supervision – financial institutions generally will not release funds to a minor.

Trust Planning for Minors

In many states, including New Jersey and New York, iff a child inherits property outright, a court-appointed guardian of the property will manage those assets until the child turns 18. This can lead to unnecessary legal costs and court oversight, while limiting flexibility.

A better solution is to create a testamentary trust (within your Will) or a revocable living trust.  These allow you to appoint a Trustee of your choosing, control when and how the child receives the inheritance, direct funds toward specific needs, and protect assets from misuse or outside claims.

You can set the trust to continue beyond age 18—often until age 25, 30, or even longer—providing better financial protection during the child’s formative years.

4. What Happens When a Beneficiary Dies?

Wills and Trusts

When a named beneficiary dies, assets may go to an alternate (if named) or be redistributed according to default rules in your Will or Trust. If no backup is listed, legal complications can arise, and if all else fails, the assets will go through probate and distributed according to the laws of intestacy.

Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directives

If your chosen agent or healthcare proxy passes away, your plan could be rendered ineffective. Be sure to name alternates and update your documents as needed.

Financial Accounts and Insurance

If a beneficiary on a financial account, retirement account or life insurance policy dies, the results can be unpredictable.  If you have multiple beneficiaries, each company will have different default rules for what happens when one of them passes away – maybe their share gets split among the survivors, or to any contingent beneficiary, perhaps their share will go to their estate, or even to your estate.  It all depends on the institution’s policy and state law. Not only might you not like the outcome, but it could also lead to delays and increased costs.

Transfer on Death Deeds and Life Estates

A Transfer on Death Deed allows real estate to pass directly to named beneficiaries upon the owner’s death without probate.  If a named TOD beneficiary dies before the owner, that beneficiary’s interest lapses (is void).  Depending on state law and the deed, the property may go to a successor beneficiary or if there is none, it becomes part of the owner’s probate estate.

A life estate gives someone (the “life tenant”) the right to use a property during their lifetime. After they die, the property passes to the remaindermen (beneficiaries with a remainder interest). In most cases, remainder interests are vested, meaning they become part of the remainderman’s estate, even if the property hasn’t transferred yet.

Why You Should Regularly Review Your Estate Plan

Estate planning is not a one-time task. Major life events—like marriage, divorce, childbirth, or the death of a beneficiary—require a comprehensive estate plan review to ensure your wishes are honored and your loved ones are protected.

Key Documents to Update After Major Life Changes

  • Last Will and Testament

  • Revocable or Irrevocable Trust

  • Durable Power of Attorney

  • Healthcare Directive or Living Will

  • HIPAA Authorization

  • Beneficiary Designations (retirement accounts, life insurance, bank accounts)

Work With an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney

At Paramus Estate Planning, we help individuals and families keep their estate plans aligned with life’s changes. Whether you’re getting married, going through a divorce, welcoming a child, or dealing with the loss of a loved one, we offer personalized legal guidance to protect your legacy.

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