Updating Your Estate Plan After Marriage, Divorce, or Remarriage
Marriage, divorce, and remarriage can change who you trust to make decisions, who you want to support financially, and how you want property to transfer after you die. Even if your wishes feel obvious, your documents may still reflect an earlier chapter of your life. That mismatch can create delays, confusion, or outcomes you never intended. An estate plan works best when it matches your current relationships, responsibilities, and goals.
At Ryland & Merchak, PC, we help people review estate planning documents after major life events to make sure their plan remains aligned with their current goals. We also serve clients across Northern Virginia, including Prince William County, Stafford County, and Fairfax County.
The right updates often go beyond changing a name on a will, since many transfers happen through account forms and ownership records. A practical approach starts by looking at why these life changes affect your plan in the first place.
Why Major Life Changes Affect Your Estate Plan
Your estate plan is a set of instructions, but those instructions rely on real people and real accounts. When your family structure changes, the people named in your documents may no longer be the best fit, or they may no longer be appropriate at all.
Some documents also assume a specific household arrangement, such as one spouse handling finances or serving as the first choice for medical decisions.
Life events can also change what you own and how you own it, especially when you buy a home together, separate property during divorce, or blend households through remarriage. Those ownership changes can affect what passes through your will and what transfers automatically.
Documents to Review After Marriage
After marriage, many people want their plan to reflect their new spouse while still protecting children, family members, or prior commitments. That often means reviewing who receives property, who can make decisions during an emergency, and who can manage finances if you can’t. A strong post-marriage review focuses on the documents that control inheritance and authority during your lifetime:
Will updates: This can designate your spouse as a primary beneficiary, appoint a trusted personal representative, and outline plans in the event of an unexpected early death in the marriage.
Beneficiary designations: Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and certain bank accounts may still be transferred by the designated beneficiary, even if your will states otherwise.
Powers of attorney: These documents can name who can act for you financially if you can’t manage your own affairs.
Health care directives: These can name a medical decision-maker and record your treatment preferences if you can’t speak for yourself.
Guardianship planning: If you have children, your documents can address who you’d want to care for them if both parents die.
After those items are in place, it’s easier to decide whether you also want trust planning, especially if you’re trying to support a spouse while preserving assets for children from a prior relationship. Marriage planning also sets a baseline that becomes important if the relationship ends and you need to update your plan during divorce.
Divorce is often a time when people assume their estate plan automatically updates itself, but your documents may still name your spouse in key roles. That can affect financial control, health care decision-making, and who inherits property if something happens before the divorce is final.
Timing matters because major decisions may still be needed during the divorce process, and you may want your paperwork to match your current preferences as closely as the law allows. It’s also common for property ownership and account balances to shift during this period, which can change the impact of your existing documents.
Considerations After Remarriage
Remarriage can bring new priorities, such as supporting a current spouse while also protecting children from a prior relationship. A thoughtful update often focuses on balancing support and clarity in ways that match your household structure:
Planning for a spouse and children: Your documents can reflect how you want assets divided and when different beneficiaries should receive property.
Trust options for blended families: Trust planning can allow support for a spouse while setting long-term terms for children or other beneficiaries.
Choice of decision-makers: You can decide who should act for you medically and financially, including backups if your first choice can’t serve.
Clarity on separate property: Your plan can specify how you want assets you brought into the marriage handled versus those acquired together.
Coordination with prior obligations: Your plan can accommodate ongoing responsibilities, such as support duties or commitments to children.
Remarriage planning works best when it’s coordinated with how your accounts are titled and how beneficiaries are listed, since those details often control the outcome more than people expect. That’s why the next step is to understand how non-probate transfers can override a will.
Many assets don’t wait for a will to be read, and they don’t rely on probate to transfer. If an account has a beneficiary designation, the financial institution will typically honor the beneficiary designation on file. If property is owned jointly with survivorship rights, the surviving owner may automatically receive it.
These features can be helpful, but they can also create unintended results if you don’t update them after marriage, divorce, or remarriage. A plan can appear correct on paper, while the underlying accounts point elsewhere.
Steps That Help Your Updates Hold Up Over Time
Estate plan updates work best when they follow a clear sequence, since one change can affect the next. This practical checklist helps you cover the major categories without losing track of details:
Inventory your documents and accounts: Collect your updated will, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and a detailed list of financial accounts with beneficiary designations..
Update decision-makers first: Align on who can act on your behalf, financially and medically, so your day-to-day authority reflects your current situation.
Confirm beneficiary designations in writing: Review primary and contingent beneficiaries and keep confirmations with your records.
Review ownership titles: Check deeds and account titles to understand what transfers by survivorship and what falls under your estate plan.
Store and share documents responsibly: Keep signed originals secure and designate the right people to access them in an emergency.
After you complete those steps, it’s still smart to revisit your plan periodically, especially after another major change, such as a move, a new child, or a significant change in assets. A short review can catch outdated designations before they cause problems later. When you’re ready to update your plan, the next step is getting guidance that fits your situation and documents.
Contact Experienced Estate Planning Attorneys Today
At Ryland & Merchak, PC, we serve clients across Northern Virginia, including Prince William County, Stafford County, and Fairfax County. If marriage, divorce, or remarriage has changed your priorities, our estate planning attorneys can help you update documents, align beneficiary designations, and reduce the risk of unintended transfers. Reach out to discuss practical next steps based on your current goals and family structure.
