Estate Planning After Divorce in California: Update Your Will, Trust, and Beneficiaries

California Probate Code Section 5600 automatically revokes certain provisions in a will that benefit a former spouse once the divorce is final. But that statutory revocation has massive gaps — it doesn't touch beneficiary designations on life insurance, 401(k)s, IRAs, bank accounts, or any federal-law-governed plan. Rely on the automatic revocation alone and your ex-spouse could inherit your retirement accounts, receive your life insurance payout, or make your medical decisions.

A complete estate overhaul after divorce is not optional — it's one of the most consequential tasks on the post-divorce checklist.

What California Law Automatically Revokes (and What It Doesn't)

Automatically revoked by statute:

• Gifts to your ex-spouse in your will (Probate Code §5600)
• Your ex-spouse's nomination as executor in your will
• Certain revocable trust provisions benefiting your ex-spouse (Probate Code §5600)

NOT automatically revoked:

• Beneficiary designations on 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other ERISA-governed plans — federal law (ERISA) preempts state law, so the designation stands until you actively change it
• Beneficiary designations on life insurance policies (unless the insurer is subject to the specific California statute)
• Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) designations on bank and brokerage accounts
• IRA beneficiary designations
• Powers of attorney (financial and healthcare)
• Advance healthcare directives

The Supreme Court case Egelhoff v. Egelhoff (2001) confirmed that ERISA preempts state automatic revocation laws for employer-sponsored retirement plans. This means that even though California law revokes will provisions, a 401(k) beneficiary designation naming your ex-spouse remains valid and enforceable until you file a new designation form with the plan administrator.

The Complete Estate Overhaul Checklist

1. Draft a New Will

Don't just cross out your ex-spouse's name — execute an entirely new will. The new will should:

• Name new beneficiaries for all assets
• Appoint a new executor
• Designate guardians for minor children (if applicable)
• Include an explicit revocation clause voiding all prior wills

2. Amend or Restate Your Trust

If you had a revocable living trust, either amend it to remove your ex-spouse as beneficiary and successor trustee, or restate it entirely. If the trust was a joint marital trust, you'll likely need to terminate it and establish a new individual trust.

3. Update All Beneficiary Designations

Contact each institution directly and file new beneficiary designation forms:

• 401(k) / 403(b): Contact your employer's HR department or plan administrator
• IRA accounts: Contact the custodian (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, etc.)
• Life insurance policies: Contact each insurer
• Bank accounts with POD: Visit the bank to update or remove POD designations
• Brokerage accounts with TOD: Contact the broker-dealer

Do not assume the divorce decree automatically changes any of these. It doesn't.

4. Revoke Existing Powers of Attorney

If your ex-spouse holds your financial power of attorney or healthcare power of attorney, revoke both immediately by executing new documents that explicitly name new agents. Simply destroying the old document isn't sufficient — institutions that have the old POA on file may still honor it.

Send written revocation notices to every bank, financial institution, and medical provider that has the old POA on record.

5. Execute a New Advance Healthcare Directive

Your healthcare directive (or living will) may name your ex-spouse as your agent for medical decisions. Draft a new directive naming a trusted person — a parent, sibling, or close friend — as your healthcare agent.

File the new directive with your primary care physician, local hospital, and any specialists. California's advance healthcare directive form is standardized under Probate Code Section 4701.

Timing Matters

Complete the estate overhaul within the first 30–60 days after the divorce is finalized. Every day that passes with outdated designations is a day your ex-spouse could receive assets or make decisions you'd no longer want them to make.

The California After-Divorce Checklist includes a beneficiary audit worksheet that lists every account type, the institution holding it, and the current designated beneficiary — plus the specific forms needed to update each one.

See more California guides →