Many divorcees never review their wills and estate plans. Those that do, often do it after they’re divorced. However, it may be advisable to make changes as soon as a marriage breaks down.
Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Property are common documents used in estate planning. If you’re in a bad marriage or in the midst of divorce, don’t wait until after divorce to review and change these documents.
These two Powers grant your “agent”, the right to make decisions regarding your property and health care, if you’re unable to make the decision yourself. One decision your agent may make is withdrawing life sustaining medical care.
Most married individuals name their spouse as their agents. Illinois law provides that if your spouse is your agent and you divorce or become legally separated, your spouse’s powers are terminated.
Yet, it may take years for a marriage to break down and a couple more before a divorce is filed and finalized. If you are uncomfortable having your spouse empowered to make health care and financial decisions for you, you need to act now.
If you don’t have a Power of Attorney for Health Care, a spouse—even an estranged one—may have authority under the Illinois Surrogate Act to make health care decisions for you, if you are incapacitated. So, if divorce is a 1) possibility or 2) reality and you want to eliminate the possibility of your spouse making health care decisions on your behalf, execute a Power appointing someone other than your spouse as your agent.
Resources: To learn more about these Powers and for samples of the forms, click on these Illinois Department of Aging links:
State of Illinois Power of Attorney for Health Care Document
State of Illinois Power of Attorney for Property Document
Categories
- Adoption Attorney
- Alimony
- Asset Division
- Asset Division Attorney
- CDLB Articles
- Celebrity Divorce
- Child Custody
- Child Custody Attorney
- Child Custody Lawyer
- Child Support
- Child Support Attorney
- Child Support Lawyer
- Civil Unions
- Co-Parenting
- Cohabitation Agreement Attorney
- Collaborative Divorce
- College Expenses
- Common Law Marriage
- Companion Animal
- COVID-19
- Divorce
- Divorce and College Tuition
- Divorce and Dating
- Divorce and Mediation
- Divorce Attorney
- Divorce Finances
- Divorce Lawyer
- Divorce Lawyers
- Divorce Legal Advice
- Divorce Statistics
- Divorce Trends
- Divorcing Through Mediation
- Divorcing with Children
- Domestic Violence
- Family Law
- Family Law Attorney
- Family Lawyer
- Foreclosure
- Grandparent and Divorce
- Grandparents and Child Custody
- High Net Worth Divorce
- High Net Worth Lawyer
- Illinois Divorce Law
- Illinois Domestic Violence Laws
- Joint Custody
- Legal Advice
- Maintenance Lawyer
- Mediation
- Mortgage Refinancing
- Parental Alienation
- Parenting
- Parenting Plan
- Parenting Time
- Paternity
- Postnuptial Agreement Attorney
- Premarital Agreement Attorney
- Prenuptial Agreement Attorney
- Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Property Division
- Property Division Attorney
- Property Division Lawyer
- Same Sex Marriages
- Separation Attorney
- Social Media and Divorce
- Spousal Maintenance
- Spousal Maintenance Attorney
- Spousal Maintenance Lawyer
- SSDI
- Stock Options
- Taxes
- Uncategorized
- Visitation
Recent Posts
- Questions To Ask Your Chicago Maintenance Lawyer About Spousal Support
- The Top Mistake People Make In Divorce
- Can I Gain Full Custody In Illinois If My Ex Is Neglecting Our Child?
- Will A Postnuptial Agreement Hold Up In Court?
- Can I Gain Full Custody If My Ex Is Neglecting Our Child?
- What Should I Know Before Filing A Restraining Order?
Add to Mailing Listing
Your Email Address Field below