Are My Accounts And Property Titles Important Once I Have Divorced And Remarried?

Attorney Kellen Bryant explains the critical steps you need to take to protect your assets and estate plan after divorce and before remarriage.

After Divorce, Update Your Beneficiary Designations

Once you become divorced, you need to carefully review all your accounts to ensure your former spouse is no longer entitled to any inheritance rights or access. This includes:

• Retirement plans
• Life insurance policies
• Bank accounts
• Property titles

Important: You do not want your ex-spouse to remain as a beneficiary designation on your accounts unless you are legally required to keep them as a beneficiary and joint owner on assets like your house and checking accounts.

While there are provisions in the law that treat a former spouse as “pre-deceased” if you haven’t changed these designations before you pass away, you don’t want to rely on these legal defaults.

Before Remarriage, Consider a Prenuptial Agreement

Prior to remarriage, you need to carefully consider how you have your accounts titled and set up. A prenuptial agreement can be invaluable because it:

• Addresses what happens to assets upon divorce
• Covers what happens to your assets upon your death or incapacity
• Protects against default rights that could override your estate planning documents

Florida’s Surviving Spouse Rights

Under Florida law, surviving spouses are entitled to significant default rights that can completely rewrite or rearrange your will or trust. What you put on paper can be ignored if your surviving spouse has not waived these rights.

Homestead Rights

The spouse has rights to inherit some interest and use of the primary residence (homestead) upon the death of the first spouse. This becomes problematic when:

• One spouse moves into the house of another spouse upon marriage
• The owner of that house dies first
• The deceased spouse’s children want to inherit the house they grew up in

The Elective Share

The elective share is Florida’s statutory automatic entitlement of the surviving spouse. Key points:

• If the first spouse completely disinherits their spouse, the surviving spouse gets 30% of the elective estate
• This becomes problematic for couples who remarried after age 50 with children from previous relationships
• Even if couples want their finances to remain separate so each spouse’s children inherit from their respective parents, the surviving spouse can sue the children of their late spouse to get up to 30% of the total estate

Post-Marriage: Align Your Asset Titling with Your Estate Plan

Once you are remarried, you need to review the titling of your assets to ensure consistency with your estate plan and estate documents. This creates clear understanding between:

• Your new spouse
• Your adult children
• All parties regarding inheritance rights

What If You Don’t Have a Prenuptial Agreement?

If there is no prenuptial agreement in place, there can be a post-nuptial agreement to waive the surviving spouse’s rights after marriage.

Key Takeaway:

The rights of the surviving spouse are very important to address in either a prenuptial or post-nuptial agreement to protect your intended estate plan and prevent family conflicts.

Take Action Today

Don’t leave your estate planning to chance. Put your mind at ease and make an appointment to meet with the Berg Bryan Elder Law Group in Jacksonville, Florida today to ensure your accounts, property titles, and estate planning documents properly reflect your wishes after divorce and remarriage.

This blog post is based on legal guidance from Attorney Kellen Bryant. For personalized legal advice regarding your specific situation, please consult with a qualified estate planning attorney.

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