Estate Planning After Divorce in Washington State

What Washington Law Does Automatically

Washington provides some automatic protections when a divorce is finalized. Under RCW 11.07.010, a pre-divorce nonprobate asset designation — a payable-on-death bank account, a transfer-on-death brokerage account, or a state-regulated life insurance policy — that names your ex-spouse as beneficiary is generally revoked upon entry of the divorce decree, subject to exceptions in the governing instrument or decree. The law treats your ex-spouse as having predeceased you, so the asset passes under the applicable default or contingent-beneficiary rules.

Under RCW 11.12.051, your existing will is also partially affected: any provision benefiting your ex-spouse is revoked by operation of law, as if your ex-spouse had predeceased you, unless the will expressly provides otherwise.

These automatic revocations are a safety net, not a plan. They leave you with an estate framework built for a marriage that no longer exists — contingent beneficiaries who may not be the people you would choose today, an executor who might be your ex-spouse's relative, and guardianship provisions that may no longer reflect your wishes.

The ERISA Exception

The automatic revocation under RCW 11.07.010 does not apply to employer-sponsored retirement accounts and group life insurance governed by ERISA. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff (2001) that federal law preempts Washington's revocation statute for these plans.

If your 401(k), 403(b), or employer group life insurance still lists your ex-spouse as beneficiary, do not assume the divorce decree or will changes that designation. An ERISA plan generally follows the beneficiary designation on file, subject to plan terms and any valid court order or waiver.

This is the single most urgent estate planning task after a divorce: log into your employer's benefits portal and submit new beneficiary designation forms for every ERISA-governed account.

Drafting a New Will

Even though Washington law revokes the ex-spouse provisions in your old will, the rest of the document was written for a married person. The executor may be your ex-spouse's sibling. The residuary clause may reference "my spouse" in ways that create ambiguity. Guardianship nominations for minor children may name your ex-spouse's parents.

A new will lets you start clean:

Appoint an executor and backup executor who reflect your current relationships. If you have minor children, nominate a guardian — this is the single most important provision for any parent. Specify how your assets should be distributed, including any trusts for minor children that you want funded at your death.

Washington does not require an attorney to draft a valid will, but the document must be signed and attested by two or more competent witnesses. A self-proving affidavit (signed before a notary) speeds up probate later.

Revoking and Replacing Powers of Attorney

A financial power of attorney (POA) gives someone the legal authority to access your bank accounts, sign contracts, and make financial decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. If your ex-spouse holds that authority, revoke it immediately.

Use a written revocation that clearly states the prior POA is revoked and deliver copies to your ex-spouse, your bank, your brokerage, and any other institution that has the original POA on file. Follow the execution formalities required by the POA; a person acting in good faith without actual knowledge of the revocation may be protected.

Then execute a new durable financial POA naming someone you trust — a parent, sibling, adult child, or close friend. The "durable" designation means the authority survives your incapacity, which is exactly when you need it most.

Updating Your Healthcare Directive

Washington's healthcare directive addresses treatment preferences; a separate durable healthcare power of attorney names who makes decisions when you cannot. If your ex-spouse is named in either document, replace it and notify your providers rather than relying on the divorce alone.

A new healthcare directive should name a primary agent and an alternate, specify your preferences on life-sustaining treatment, and address organ donation. Washington provides a statutory form, but you can customize it. File copies with your primary care physician, your local hospital, and the person you are naming as agent.

Trusts and Real Property

If you and your ex-spouse created a revocable living trust during the marriage, the trust agreement needs to be amended or restated to remove your ex-spouse as co-trustee and beneficiary. Any real property held in the trust that was awarded to you in the decree needs a quitclaim deed transferring your ex-spouse's interest — both in the property itself and in their role as trustee.

If the trust is irrevocable (less common in divorce), modification options are limited and typically require court approval or the consent of all beneficiaries.

The Washington After-Divorce Checklist walks through the full estate reconfiguration sequence — ERISA accounts, wills, POAs, healthcare directives, and trust amendments — with the forms and contacts you need for each step.

See more Washington guides →