Post-Divorce Check List

 Posted on December 15, 2014 in Divorce

Once a divorce is granted, there are still many things a person has to do to ensure all official and/or legal connections with their now ex-spouse are taken care of.  The divorce decree ends your marriage, but you still need to make contact with various entities to ensure that your ex-spouse no longer has access or benefit of things to which they are no longer entitled.

The best way to do this is to make a list of the particulars you will have to change. Some of the items that may be on your task list include:

1. All testamentary documents that you have drafted will need to be updated. Make sure you change the beneficiaries on any will and trusts you have, otherwise your ex-spouse would still be able to inherit your assets and property if something should happen to you.
2. If there are any other entities where your spouse is named beneficiary, those should be changed as well. You will want to remove your ex-spouse as a beneficiary from insurance policies, bank and stock accounts, and any other financial accounts you may have. The only time this should not be done is if the divorce settlement says differently. For example, if you are paying spousal support, the judge may have ordered you to keep your spouse as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy for the duration of your alimony obligation. There may also need to be changes made to retirement accounts, such as a partial roll over into one spouse’s name, depending on the divorce settlement.
3. If your divorce settlement included an exchange of real estate between the two of you, then you will need to have quit claim deeds recorded. There may also need to be mortgage refinancing that needs to be done to remove the other spouse from financial obligation of the property, again depending on what the final divorce settlement reads.
4. If there are any joint utility bills, such as electric, water, and telephone, those will also have to be changed into the name of the spouse that will be living in the home.

If you are considering a divorce and are looking for an experienced Arlington Heights family law attorney, contact A. Traub and Associates for a consultation today.