What if the Beneficiaries of Your Estate Get Divorced?

People seeking to divorce often don’t realize how entwined their lives have become, with each other and with the law. It’s hard enough to deal with finances (and the dreaded QDRO) and “telling the children,” but what do you do when the benefited children get their own divorces, and the will doesn’t specify what share, if any, the ex-spouse gets?

A recent article in the April 2009 issue of the OSB Estate Planning and Administration Section newsletter (previous issues of the newsletter are free online) addresses some of these issues and looks at some recent Oregon cases:

“How to Avoid Unintended Consequences of Estate Planning in Dissolution Court,” by Lisa Bertalan and Melissa Lande.