While I don't watch a lot of television I often indulge in sporadic episodes of Desperate Housewives. Interestingly, one of the key turning points centered around an older neighbor's uncommon and somewhat sinister reasons for disposing of her late husband's body into the abyss of a deep freezer. While this may not, on its face, seem to be applicable to divorce and family law issues, the reason she offered reminds us that proper post-divorce estate planning and change of beneficiaries is essential to protecting the ones you love.
In last night's espisode, the neighbor stated that despite being married to her husband (who she allegedly discovered dead in his easy chair with a tv remote in his hand) for 34 years, he failed to change the beneficiary of his pension plan from his ex-wife, to whom he was married for 4 years, to his current wife. His ex-wife would have received his pension benefits had his current wife disclosed his death.
Immediately prior to finalizing your divorce or other family law issues, including establishment of paternity, each client should review his or her assets and determine how s/he would like them distributed upon death. Your intent should then be finalized in a revised (or new) Last Will and Testament and/or a Trust.
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Jennifer Jaskolka-Brown, an Iowa attorney located at 6601 Westown Parkway, Suite 200, West Des Moines, Iowa, (515) 247-4705, practices in general civil litigation with an emphasis in Iowa Family Law issues. She provides guidance in family law matters from divorce, paternity, disestablishment of paternity to adoption,and guardianships. She also provides representation in a wide-variety of civil litigation issues.
