Can You Leave Your Ex-Spouse An Inheritance In Your Will Instead Of Paying Alimony?

The feelings between spouses are more complicated than unmarried people can possibly understand. The people who feel the most hurt when their spouses file for divorce are sometimes the people who complained bitterly, throughout their marriages, about how miserable their spouses made them. It might hurt more when your ex-spouse starts dating someone new after your divorce becomes final than it would have if your spouse had cheated on you while you were still married. You are determined to be there for your ex-spouse through thick and thin, perhaps even more than when you were married, but the thought of paying alimony to your ex-spouse, or even the thought of your child support payments landing in your ex-spouse’s bank account, fills you with anger. Maybe it isn’t really about your spouse; maybe what bothers you so much is the court interfering in the most intimate relationship in your life. Regardless of how you may feel about it, the law dictates that only the family court can legally dissolve a marriage, and this means formally dividing the marital property and, if applicable, ordering child support payments for the couple’s minor children. If it is any consolation, though, your estate plan is no one’s business but yours, regardless of your marital status. For help thinking past your emotions and understanding how divorce will affect you and your ex-spouse financially in the long term, contact a Birmingham divorce lawyer.

The Family Court Only Cares About You Fulfilling Your Financial Obligations to Your Ex-Spouse While You Are Married

You and your spouse probably married each other with the intention of staying married until one of you died. If you get divorced, though, the family court must make a final division of your marital assets and debts. Most of the time, the couple agrees to the terms of their marital settlement agreement (MSA) in mediation, and the court just signs off on it. When the spouses cannot reach an agreement during mediation, there is a trial, and the court decides the fairest way to divide the couple’s marital property; this is equitable distribution.

What about spouses inheriting from each other after divorce? If you built your estate plan while married, some of its provisions change after divorce, but some don’t. For example, if you have a revocable trust, the provisions that refer to your spouse automatically become void when your divorce becomes final. Likewise, if the probate court receives a will that makes it sound like you and your spouse are still married, when in fact you have gotten divorced, it will interpret the will like it would if you were widowed. If you still want your ex-spouse to inherit from you, even though you are divorced, you must write a new version of your will listing your ex-spouse as a beneficiary and indicating that he or she is your former spouse.

Contact Peeples Law About Your Future After Divorce

A Birmingham family law attorney can help you divide your marital property and leave you with enough that your heirs can eventually inherit something from you.  Contact Peeples Law in Birmingham, Alabama today to schedule a consultation.

Source:

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