Effects of a Divorce

In New York, a divorce is treated as a final judgment and severance of the legal affairs of two formerly married individuals. If your marriage is ending a split is on the horizon, enlist the advice of an experienced attorney to ensure that every aspect of your divorce is addressed skillfully and comprehensively. We can be reached at (516) 406-8381.

Impact on Prior Legal Agreements

By law, a divorce judgment automatically revokes or cancels out any and all of the following between the couple, unless there is some indication to the contrary within the individual instrument itself:

• Disposition of property in will
• Appointment in will, such as executor or beneficiary
• Designation in a life insurance policy
• Severance from pension or other retirement benefits plan
• Severance from trust account or other bank accounts related thereto
• Any appointment or power of disposition over the former spouse
• Role of former spouse as any of the following in a fiduciary or representative capacity:
  • Personal representative
  • Executor
  • Trustee
  • Conservator
  • Guardian
  • Agent
  • Attorney in fact
• Joint interests in property, specifically joint tenancies with the right of survivorship, which transforms the property to a tenancy in common relationship.

The effect of the divorce is to treat the former spouse as having died or pre-deceased the other party for purposes of enforcing these various instruments. Even if the divorce does not touch upon the matters stated above (which of course it likely will), these actions will be treated as having automatically occurred.

Parties should ensure that their divorce not only specifically addresses these matters, but also includes a provision for how these properties will be equitably divided, as appropriate. Additionally, remarriage has the effect of automatically re-instating these revocations.