My Spouse Died… What Rights Does Their Ex Have to Their Estate?
How often do you look at who your beneficiaries are on your accounts – life insurance, retirement, checking, savings, and the list goes on? How is your property titled? An important part of estate planning is reviewing the owner and transfer on death beneficiaries for your property.
The good news is that, in 2023, with help from Lubnau Law attorney Alison O. Gee, the Wyoming Legislature passed Wyoming Statute § 2-6-125 Revocation of Probate and Nonprobate Transfers by Divorce or Annulment. Under this new law, if a person gets a divorce and forgets to update any of the following, it will be treated as though the ex-spouse (or any of the ex-spouse’s relatives) disclaimed the rights granted to them:
Property Power of Attorney
Healthcare Powers of Attorney
Last Will and Testament
Revocable Trust
Checking and Savings account ownership
Account Transfer on Death designations
Property ownership as tenants with survivorship rights
Life Insurance beneficiary designations
If you did intend to give rights or property to an ex-spouse, once the divorce is entered, you would need to reaffirm your desire to keep the document in effect.
While this law fixes the problem for most assets, it does not affect retirement accounts and employee benefits governed by ERISA, which are governed under federal law. Many of our clients hold substantial retirement savings. Imagine your new spouse and family watching your ex-spouse spend your retirement savings after you are gone. If that is not motivation enough to update your estate plan, what is?
While the new law is good news for many, it is not the end of your estate planning journey. If the assets do not go to your ex-spouse, they will go through Probate and your Will (if you have one) or state law will govern who receives your assets. If you want to make sure the assets go to who you choose, schedule a time to meet with one of our attorneys at (307) 682-1313.