Mark Glendon

Does My Parents' Divorcing Impact My Inheritance?

When it comes to inheritance and divorce, most people probably think about how a divorce will affect the money they plan to leave to their children. While this makes sense, the opposite side of inheritance and divorce involves questions children may have about how parents divorcing may affect an expected inheritance.

If you're a child, whether minor or adult, you may face these types of questions if your parents are newly divorced or are headed for a divorce. Because every divorce is unique and personal, you will be best served by speaking with a divorce attorney or a financial planner in your state for answers. There are, however, some commonalities that are found in most divorce cases involving an inheritance.

Check the Will

In almost all cases, a parent's will document is the final say in what happens to their estate upon the parent's passing. If a will states that you are to inherit something, the executor of the estate has a responsibility to ensure the terms of the will are carried out.

After a divorce, each parent may need to update their wills to ensure that their wishes are reflected. While married, a decedent's spouse is almost always automatically entitled to the estate, but after a divorce, the ex-spouse no longer holds this position unless it is stated explicitly in a will document.

Community Property and Inheritance

Another issue that is common to all divorces involving inheritance is the matter of community property. When two people are married and one or the other makes a purchase, the asset is usually considered community property. This means that each spouse owns the property equally regardless of who paid for it.

During a divorce, a judge may rule that one spouse or the other will either retain full ownership of contested community property or that one spouse is to receive partial ownership. Two additional options are that the property must be sold or that one spouse must buy out the other.

These scenarios can affect your inheritance when the surviving ex-spouse still retains ownership of assets that you are supposed to inherit. In such cases, you will need to retain the services of an attorney for personalized legal counsel.

Author Resource:-

Mark writes often about estate planning. His articles may include topics like real estate closing attorney and business succession laws to help the people in needs. You can find his thoughts at elder law blog.