Estate Planning and Your Divorce

 Posted on March 30, 2020 in Estate Planning

Going through a divorce in DuPage County can create complications in many different areas of a person’s life, from financial matters and employment schedules to estate planning. While estate planning might not be the first thing on your mind when you are in the middle of a divorce, it is essential to think carefully about estate planning—and to make any necessary changes—in conjunction with your divorce.

At the Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we routinely serve members of the Muslim community in a variety of divorce matters, and we can assist you with questions concerning divorce and estate planning in DuPage County. One of the Oakbrook Terrace divorce lawyers at our firm can speak with you today.

1. You Should Revisit Your Will

When you are planning for a divorce, you should understand how Illinois divorce law works. At the same time, you should be speaking with your divorce lawyer about revising the terms of your will and how you might make changes according to the Illinois Probate Act. Most parties will leave property to their spouses in a will, and most of those parties will want to make changes after a divorce. If you do not change your will, a divorce will not result in any automatic changes. You need to make those amendments or revisions with your lawyer’s help.

2. Consider Islamic Inheritance Law

Questions of divorce and estate planning may raise concerns about Islamic inheritance law. For example, you may have stepchildren as a result of your marriage, or you may have adopted a child with your spouse during the marriage. Even after your divorce, you can still plan for inheritances in accordance with Islamic law, but you should seek assistance from an attorney at Farooqi & Husain Law Office who has experience handling similar kinds of cases.

3. Beneficiaries May Need to Be Changed

If you have life insurance policies or other policies for which beneficiaries are named, you will likely want to change those beneficiaries after your divorce. Indeed, most parties have their spouse named as a beneficiary, and they may want to change that beneficiary to a child or another relative after the divorce.

4. Change Designations on Advance Directives

After a divorce, you need to revisit advance directives. From a living will to a health care power of attorney, you want to make sure you have named the correct person to make decisions on your behalf if you cannot do so for yourself. Most parties have a spouse designated to make health care and financial decisions in the event of incapacity. Typically, unless you specifically make changes, the spouse will remain as this designated person even after your divorce is finalized.

5. Seek Help from a DuPage County Divorce Attorney

An experienced lawyer can help you with the estate planning complications arising out of divorce. You do not have to understand the law on your own when one of the attorneys at Farooqi & Husain Law Office can make sure your estate planning documents are in order.

Contact the Experienced DuPage County Divorce Lawyers at Our Firm

If you have questions about how divorce can or should affect estate planning, it is important to work with a dedicated Oakbrook Terrace divorce attorney who has experience assisting clients with both divorce and estate planning matters. Once a divorce is underway, and certainly, once it is finalized, you will need to revisit your estate planning documents. And if you have not yet considered estate planning, the time surrounding your divorce is an important time to start. At the Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we have been serving the DuPage County Muslim community for years with a variety of divorce issues. One of our attorneys can speak with you today. Contact Farooqi & Husain Law Office online or call us at 630-909-9114.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=075500050HArt.+IV&ActID=2104&ChapterID=60&SeqStart=5300000&SeqEnd=6800000