How Divorce Impacts Your Estate Planning Documents in California: Protecting Your Legacy After a Life Change

Introduction: When Life Changes, Your Estate Plan Should Too

Divorce doesn’t just end a marriage — it reshapes nearly every part of your financial and legal life, including your estate plan. In California, a divorce can automatically revoke or modify certain rights in wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. But many documents require active updates to ensure your assets go where you intend.

At Moravec, Varga & Mooney, we regularly counsel clients navigating divorce, remarriage, or blended-family dynamics. Whether your estate plan was written years ago or during your marriage, now is the time to review it.

1. How Divorce Affects Your Will in California

Under California Probate Code § 6122, once a divorce (or annulment) is final, all provisions in your will that name your former spouse are automatically revoked.

That means:

• Your ex-spouse is treated as if they predeceased you.

• Any gifts or appointments (such as executor nominations) made to your former spouse generally fail.

  
  

⚠️ But — be careful:

• Pre-divorce wills remain in effect until the divorce is final. If you pass away during the separation, your spouse may still inherit unless you’ve created an interim plan.

• Stepchildren or family from your spouse’s side may still be beneficiaries unless specifically removed.

Action step: Create a new will as soon as possible after filing for divorce to prevent unintended inheritances.

2. Revocable Living Trusts and Divorce

California treats trusts somewhat differently from wills. Unless your trust document says otherwise, Probate Code § 15407(b) and § 6122.1 revoke provisions in favor of a former spouse upon divorce.

However, this rule applies only after the divorce judgment is final, not during separation.

Key considerations:

• If your former spouse is the trustee, beneficiary, or successor trustee, those roles may automatically terminate after divorce.

• Assets titled in the trust may still require re-titling if they were once community property.

• You may need to create a new trust to clearly separate your estate and name new trustees or beneficiaries.

Example:

If your home was titled in the “John and Jane Doe Revocable Trust,” you’ll likely need to retitle your share under your own separate trust after the divorce.

3. Beneficiary Designations: A Common Oversight

Divorce does not automatically change beneficiary designations on:

• Life insurance policies

• IRAs and 401(k)s

• Pay-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts

If you named your ex-spouse as beneficiary, that designation may still stand — even if your will or trust says otherwise.

Federal law often overrides state law for ERISA-governed plans, meaning your ex could still inherit if you forget to update your beneficiary forms.

Action step: Review all accounts, insurance policies, and annuities. Submit updated beneficiary designations to reflect your current wishes.

4. Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directives

Divorce can leave outdated powers of attorney in place, giving your former spouse control over your finances or medical decisions.

• Durable Power of Attorney: Automatically revoked upon divorce if your ex-spouse is the named agent (Probate Code § 4154).

• Advance Health Care Directive: You must update it manually to remove your ex-spouse as agent or alternate agent.

Action step: Sign new powers of attorney immediately to name trusted friends or family members who can act if you’re incapacitated.

5. Real Estate, Joint Accounts, and Title Changes

Many couples hold assets jointly — real property, vehicles, and bank accounts. After divorce:

• Joint tenancy automatically converts to tenancy in common, removing survivorship rights unless otherwise agreed.

• You should record a grant deed or quitclaim deed to ensure your property reflects sole ownership.

• Close or re-title joint bank accounts to prevent confusion or future disputes.

If you previously executed a Transfer on Death (TOD) deed, review it carefully — it may still list your ex-spouse as beneficiary.

6. Protecting Minor Children After Divorce

If you have minor children, divorce makes guardian nominations even more critical. While your ex-spouse is generally the default guardian, your estate plan can:

• Nominate backup guardians in case both parents pass away.

• Create a revocable or irrevocable trust for children’s inheritance, protecting assets until adulthood.

• Name a neutral trustee (not your ex-spouse) to manage distributions.

7. Remarriage and Blended Family Considerations

A remarriage brings new priorities — and potential conflicts between children from prior relationships and your new spouse.

To avoid disputes:

• Update trusts to clearly define community vs. separate property.

• Consider a Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trust to provide for your spouse while preserving inheritance for children.

• Review prenuptial or postnuptial agreements in light of your revised estate plan.

8. Timeline: When to Update Your Documents

Stage	Recommended Action
During Separation	Draft a new will and update beneficiary designations.
Upon Divorce Judgment	Revoke old trusts, re-title assets, and execute new powers of attorney.
Within 90 Days	File new deeds, update bank and investment accounts, and confirm insurance changes.
Within 1 Year	Review your estate plan with an attorney for tax and property implications.

Conclusion: Protect Your Legacy After Divorce

Divorce is one of life’s biggest transitions — emotionally and legally. But it also offers an opportunity to reclaim control of your estate plan, ensuring your wealth supports your children, loved ones, or charitable goals rather than defaulting to unintended recipients.

At Moravec, Varga & Mooney, we help clients protect their legacy through comprehensive estate-plan updates after divorce, remarriage, or other life changes.

📞 Call us today to schedule a confidential consultation and secure your financial future.