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Law & Legal
  1. How to Qualify for a Medicaid Waiver
  2. Six Reasons Someone May Be Placed Under a Guardianship
  3. What Can Be Included in a Will?
  4. How Much Should You Put as a Down Payment on a House?
  5. 3 Assets That Can Fund a Trust
  6. Why You Should Have a Life Insurance Policy
  7. Is Real Estate a Good Financial Investment?
  8. S-Corp vs. C-Corp
  9. 5 Reasons Someone Might Disinherit a Child
  10. Benefits of a Testamentary Trust
  11. Steps on How to Sign Up for Life Insurance
  12. What is the Estate Administration Process?
  13. What Types of Government Benefits are Available for the Elderly?
  14. What is the Job of an Executor?
  15. What is a Simple Estate Plan?
  16. Why You Should Have a Will
  17. 3 Things You Need to Prepare Your Taxes
  18. Tips for Planning an Estate
  19. What is Electronic Notarization?
  20. Are There Requirements to Qualify for Medicaid Home Care?
  21. 3 Benefits of Tax Planning
  22. 3 Things to Know About Retirement Planning
  23. How Does Mental Illness Impact Your Estate Planning Process?
  24. What is a Lawsuit for Wrongful Death?
  25. What is The Tax Code?
  26. Guide to Become a Tax Advisor
  27. Does My Parents' Divorcing Impact My Inheritance?
  28. Guide to Understand When You Should and Shouldn't Buy a Home
  29. 3 Things a CPA Can Help With
  30. Tips to Maximize Your Tax Refund
  31. 3 Reasons You Should Have a Tax Accountant on Retainer
  32. Do Self-Employed Individuals Get Taxed Differently?
  33. What are Unclaimed Funds?
  34. 4 Things to Know About Surrogate's Court
  35. 3 Reasons Having Advance Directives is Important
  36. What are Estate Taxes?
  37. What is The Estate-Tax Exemption?
  38. Who Has to File Taxes?
  39. 3 Reasons You Should Have a Trust Protector
  40. Understanding Spousal Impoverishment
  41. Who Files Taxes For Businesses?
  42. Should I File My Taxes Using Turbo Tax?
  43. 3 Ways to Protect Against Financial Exploitation
  44. Who Qualifies for a Special Needs Trust?
  45. Guide on How to Write Off Business Expenses When Doing Your Taxes
  46. 3 Things Every Small Business Should Know
  47. Why Updating Your Will is Important
  48. What is the Probate Journey?
  49. What Happens if I Don't File My Taxes?
  50. Tax Accountant vs CPA
Does My Parents' Divorcing Impact My Inheritance? {{ currentPage ? currentPage.title : "" }}

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.

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