Divorce in America has been declining since the early 1980s, but it remains a common reality. In 2024 alone, more than 1.8 million Americans divorced, and roughly one-third of Americans who have ever been married have experienced divorce.

 It can be one of life’s most stressful transitions. On some stress scales, divorce ranks just behind the death of a spouse and is considered more stressful than events like serious injury or incarceration.

Divorce is also a major factor in modern family life. As the Pew Research Center notes, it can shape living arrangements, financial well-being, and parenting responsibilities.

Simply put, divorce changes everything, and that includes your estate plan.

Even if your divorce is amicable, it should trigger an estate plan review. Divorce changes more than your marital status. It can affect who has authority over your finances, who can make medical decisions for you, and who inherits your property if something happens unexpectedly.

Some people assume that once their divorce is finalized, everything “automatically updates.” While certain items may change under Texas law, other parts of your estate plan may remain unchanged unless you update them.

If you are going through a divorce, recently divorced, or even separated, here’s what you should know about how divorce affects your estate plan.

Your Estate Plan May Still Name Your Ex-Spouse

A common issue after divorce is that certain accounts and policies still list an ex-spouse as a beneficiary, including:

• Employer-sponsored life insurance policies.
• 401(k)s, pensions, and other workplace retirement plans.
• IRAs.
• If your divorce decree specifically states that your ex-spouse remains a beneficiary.
• If you fill out new paperwork and name your ex-spouse as a beneficiary.

While Texas law (Texas Estates Code § 123.001) generally treats a former spouse as having predeceased you for roles like executor, trustee, and some power of attorney appointments after divorce, it does not automatically remove an ex-spouse from many beneficiary designations on employer-sponsored life insurance or most retirement accounts.

If those beneficiary forms are not updated, your estate plan may still reflect major decisions that no longer match your current wishes, and substantial assets could end up going to your ex-spouse after your death.

It is also important to understand that a divorce decree by itself does not change these beneficiary designations, so you must update them directly with each financial institution and insurance provider.

Your Will May Need Updating

Many people assume their will becomes “invalid” after divorce. That’s not true, but Texas law does automatically revoke certain provisions.

Under Texas law, your divorce generally revokes provisions in your will that favor your former spouse, including their appointment as executor and any gifts to them or, in some cases, their relatives. The law treats your ex-spouse as though they predeceased you for those specific provisions:

• Life insurance policies
• Retirement accounts
• Bank accounts
• Joint tenancy property
• Trusts

Another thing you need to review in your will is content that may have changed after the divorce:

• Distribution plans are built around shared finances.
• References to a home, accounts, or assets that were divided in the divorce.
• Guardian designations based on a parenting arrangement that has changed.
• Outdated assumptions about who should inherit assets when the primary beneficiaries are unavailable.

A divorce is also a natural time to reconsider what you want your legacy to look like going forward, and your updated will should reflect your new circumstances and wishes.

Powers of Attorney Require Immediate Attention

When people think about estate planning, they often focus on who gets what after death. But divorce creates an immediate concern that many people overlook: who can act on your behalf while you are still alive?

Under Texas law, if your spouse is named as your agent under a durable (financial) power of attorney or a medical power of attorney, their authority is generally terminated when your divorce is finalized (unless the document clearly states that their powers continue after divorce).

However, this can create an urgent new problem: if you do not have a beneficiary or executor listed after a divorce, the state will appoint an administrator or personal representative. The court usually determines who is the “next of kin”, surviving spouse if the individual is remarried, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, etc.

A financial power of attorney allows someone to:

• Access bank accounts
• Pay bills
• Manage investments
• Sell property
• Handle business decisions

A medical power of attorney allows someone to:

• Speak with doctors
• Access medical records
• Make treatment decisions
• Choose facilities or care plans

After a divorce, you should promptly sign new power of attorney documents naming someone you trust. Do not rely solely on automatic revocation; updated documents clearly establish who has authority to act on your behalf in a crisis.

Your Trust May Need Restructuring

If you created a trust while married, divorce can affect it in different ways depending on the type of trust and how it was drafted.

In Texas, revocable trusts are automatically treated similarly to wills when a divorce occurs. Your ex-spouse is treated as though they predeceased you for certain roles or benefits under the trust, meaning their ability to serve as trustee or receive assets is automatically revoked by law.

Even so, it’s still important to review and update your trust after divorce. You may need to revise distribution instructions, confirm how the property is titled and funded, and appoint new current and successor trustees to avoid gaps in your plan.

Irrevocable trusts are different. Generally, divorce does not automatically remove an ex-spouse’s rights or authority under an irrevocable trust. An irrevocable trust is much more complex and requires judicial intervention to be modified.

Regardless of trust type, your trust may still include provisions that no longer fit your situation, such as:

• Joint property or funding plans that no longer apply after the divorce.
• Shared financial goals that have changed over time.
• Distribution plans for children should be updated after custody or family changes.
• Outdated assumptions about successor trustees or backup beneficiaries .

Trusts are powerful tools, but they work best when they reflect your current reality. After a divorce, it’s wise to review your trust and related documents to make sure they still protect the people you intend to protect and operate the way you expect.

Review Guardianship and Financial Planning for Children

If you have minor children, divorce is an important time to revisit how your estate plan provides for them.

In Texas, if you die, your ex-spouse (as the other legal parent) will generally have the right to custody of your children, unless a court finds that parent unfit or there is a competing suit affecting the parent-child relationship. Your will cannot automatically override a fit surviving parent’s custodial right, but you can still plan for:

• Guardian of the Person: Who would care for your children if both you and the ex-spouse are unable to do so (because of death, incapacity, or unfitness)?
• Guardian of the Estate: Who would manage any money or property your children inherit, including life insurance proceeds or trust funds?
• Testamentary Trusts: Should assets be held in a trust rather than distributed directly to your children, and who should manage those trust assets?
• Distribution Terms: How and when your children receive their inheritance, such as age milestones, educational expenses, or staggered distributions?

After a divorce, you may want to update the people you have named in these roles and the way you have structured financial protection for your children. Many parents also review life insurance coverage to help ensure there are sufficient funds available for their children’s support if something happens to them.

Your Estate Plan Should Match Your Life Today

Divorce is a major life transition, and it often creates new priorities. You may want to protect assets for children, update decision-makers, revise beneficiary designations, or restructure how property is distributed.

The important thing is making sure your estate plan reflects your life today, not your former marriage.

At Sloan Docs, we help Texans review and update wills, trusts, and essential directives so your wishes stay clear and your plan stays current.