Do I Need a Prenuptial Agreement?
Divorce Fees: When Your Spouse Might Have to Pay
How Much Will My Divorce Cost?
Love Actually: Planning Considerations for Marriage, Divorce, Cohabitation, the Death of a Spouse, and More
Mamma Mia!: Common Estate Planning Issues for Blended Families
Navigating Divorce: How a Coach Can Transform Your Experience
How Much an Arizona Divorce Will Cost
The impact of realistic estrangement on child custody matters
¿Quién fue "la mujer del César"?
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 7 - Invisible Scars: The Impact of Coercive Control on Children
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 6 - Reshaping Your Legacy: Estate Planning After Your Divorce
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 5 - Parallel Proceedings: The Intersection of Criminal Law and Family Law
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 4 - Splitting Costs: Forensic Accounting in Divorce
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 2 - Mortgage Mastery: Charting a Financial Course Post-Divorce
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 1 - The Truth Behind Coercive Control
Jewish Divorce Talk: Episode 8 - Narcissism and Parental Alienation Talk
Let's Talk About the Anatomy of a Prenuptial Agreement
Let's Talk About Easy Divorces
Jewish Divorce Talk: Episode 7 - Custody Evaluation Talk
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Divorce is an emotional and complex process, but one important aspect that often gets overlooked is your estate plan. If you don’t update it, your estranged spouse could still inherit your assets or make crucial financial and...more
Marital estate rights create the potential for catastrophic consequences should a spouse pass away at a time when the parties are physically separated but have not yet signed a separation agreement or been granted a divorce....more
Married couples often have wills naming one another as their primary beneficiary. People also often name their spouse as beneficiary of retirement accounts and life insurance policies. Upon commencing a divorce action,...more
As a bit of background, there is a distinction between probate assets and non-probate assets. Probate assets are distributed according to your will during a probate administration whereas non-probate assets are distributed...more
Divorce can be a challenging and emotionally draining experience, leaving individuals with numerous legal and personal matters to resolve. Amidst all the turmoil, it is vital for people to understand the significance of...more
During the divorce process, one often overlooked area is updating your estate plan. Divorce can impact beneficiary designations on life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other assets and can also have tax...more
In this episode of “Splitting Heirs,” Warren K. Racusin, partner and Chair of Lowenstein’s Trusts & Estates practice, speaks with Sharon L. Klein, EVP, President - Family Wealth, Eastern U.S. Region & Head of National Divorce...more
I received a call recently from a colleague looking to refer a client for a divorce. Our firm had done estate planning for the client and spouse, thus we were not eligible to represent either party in a marital break up as...more
One of the most common questions we receive in our Estate Planning practice is “when do I need a personalized estate plan?” While there are many factors to consider, you will want a personalized estate plan when there is a...more
Beneficiary designations are a critical component of the estate planning process that often is not given proper attention. Beneficiary designations exist as part of certain financial and other asset ownership...more
After a party completes their divorce, there are often many things that they need to do to finalize matters. However, one item that many overlook is changing their beneficiary designations after divorce to remove their...more
Forgive the title but this is written amidst the Eagles-Vikings game and on the same date as Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Commentators noted that the Queen’s final event was more than a generation in the planning and was...more
As an attorney who prepares comprehensive estate plans and administers wills and trusts after death, I see questions arise at all phases as to who beneficiaries of accounts are and who they should be in a comprehensive estate...more
Contrary to popular belief, truly effective estate planning entails all parts of your life, not just the end of it. The process requires reflection on deeply held beliefs about what is important to you, your expectations for...more
When you’re in the throes of a separation or divorce, it is easy to forget the importance of updating your will and your estate plan. With so much happening in the here and now, things like beneficiary designations and...more
Why do estate planning documents need to be updated when a couple is getting divorced? This simple story illustrates one of the key reasons. An Arizona couple had been married for several years and during their marriage had...more
Most plan administrators are familiar with a qualified domestic relations order or “QDRO,” which is used to split retirement plan benefits between a plan participant and an alternate payee, such as an ex-spouse or minor...more
Three best practices for plan administration that often fall by the wayside include: (1) regularly reminding participants to review and update their beneficiary designations; (2) checking recordkeeping practices to avoid loss...more
While in the process of divorcing, your attorney will remind you that you cannot change beneficiary designations on your accounts until the divorce is finalized. It is not uncommon to want to put the divorce out of your...more
The United States Constitution provides that “[n]o state shall … pass any … Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts.” (U.S. Constit., Art. I, § 10.) Alongside state constitutional guarantees, the federal Contracts Clause...more
After a decades-long drought, the Supreme Court recently decided a case involving the Contracts Clause of the Constitution. You might not recall that provision because it is so rarely invoked in modern-day litigation (due to...more
On June 11, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Sveen v. Melin, No. 16-1432, holding that the retroactive application of a Minnesota statute that revokes spousal beneficiary designations in insurance policies...more
A woman who dropped divorce proceedings three days after her husband died is entitled to the proceeds from his insurance policy but cannot claim his pension benefits, according to a recent Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling...more
So you have an estate plan? Good for you. You funded it? Even better. But have you updated it and your will in the last year? If you haven’t, your loved ones or favorite charities may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Your...more
On July 1, 2015, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held, with a few exceptions, upon entry of a final judgment of dissolution or annulment, any provision of a will that “affects” a former spouse is void under...more