Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

The Matrimonial StrategistKickerFeaturesSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

Finalizing a Divorce? Wait, Just One More Thing '

By Yolanda Kanes
July 01, 2016

There is hardly anything more stressful in life than divorce. Indeed, according to the often quoted Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, which analyzed the impact of 43 specified life events on general health, divorce and marital separation came just behind “death” at the top of the list. Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe, The Social Readjustment Rating Scale, J Psychosom Res, Volume 11, Issue 2, August 1967, pp. 213-218. It should therefore come as no surprise that, at the end of all the legal and emotional wrangling in finalizing a divorce, clients (and, often, their lawyers) are loathe to tackle issues addressing end-of-life.

As an estate-planning attorney, I find that one of the biggest obstacles in accomplishing effective planning is getting clients to embrace the idea that estate planning is not “finished” when the Will, Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy are done; it is a fluid process, requiring periodic review and adjustment in the face of changing life circumstances. Nowhere is this truer than in the case of a divorce. It may not technically be part of the matrimonial lawyer's wheelhouse to review, re-structure and execute a client's estate plan, but the newly single client's changed circumstances should include a discussion of his or her estate, and how plans for it might need to be adjusted in the face of a finalized divorce.

This premium content is locked for LJN Newsletters subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.