Updating Your Will After Divorce in Indiana

Indiana Revokes Some Things Automatically — But Not Everything

Indiana provides a set of automatic protections when a divorce is finalized. Under IC 29-1-5-8, any provision in your will that benefits your former spouse is revoked as of the date the decree is entered. The will reads as if your ex-spouse predeceased you.

Similar automatic revocations apply to:

• Revocable trusts (IC 30-4-2-15) — your former spouse is removed as beneficiary, trustee, and trust protector
• Financial powers of attorney (IC 30-5-4-4) — any authority granted to your former spouse is automatically revoked
• Healthcare powers of attorney (IC 30-5-4-4) — authority granted to your former spouse is automatically revoked. Review any separate healthcare representative designation or advance directive and replace your former spouse if named.
• Funeral planning declarations (IC 29-2-19-15) — your former spouse loses authority over disposition of remains
• Transfer-on-death and payable-on-death designations (IC 32-17-14-23) — bank accounts and securities with TOD/POD designations naming your former spouse are automatically revoked

These automatic revocations provide a safety net. But relying on them as your permanent estate plan is a mistake.

Why You Still Need to Update

The automatic revocations create gaps, not solutions. When your will reads as if your ex-spouse predeceased you, what happens to their share depends on whatever contingency language was in the original will. If you named your ex-spouse as sole beneficiary with no contingent, the bequest may pass under intestacy rules — which could mean your assets go to your parents, siblings, or the state, rather than to your children or the people you actually want to benefit.

The same logic applies to powers of attorney and healthcare directives. The revocation removes your ex-spouse, but it does not substitute anyone else. If your ex was the only person named as your healthcare proxy, you have not named a replacement to make medical decisions if you are incapacitated.

The Life Insurance Gap

The most dangerous gap in Indiana's automatic revocation scheme is life insurance. Under long-standing Indiana case law, a divorce decree does not automatically change the beneficiary on a life insurance policy. If your former spouse is named as beneficiary on a personal life insurance policy and you never update the designation, they receive the full payout.

For employer-provided life insurance under ERISA, federal law requires the plan administrator to pay the named beneficiary in the plan documents — regardless of what the Indiana divorce decree says. Update every life insurance beneficiary designation directly with the carrier or through your employer's benefits portal.

A Post-Divorce Estate Planning Checklist

Work through this list within the first 30 days after the decree:

Execute a new will. Do not rely on the old will minus the revoked provisions. Draft a new will that names your intended beneficiaries, designates a personal representative (executor), and includes guardianship provisions for minor children if applicable.

Update or create a new revocable trust. If you have a trust, amend it to remove your former spouse and name new successor trustees and beneficiaries. If you do not have a trust but your asset structure warrants one (real estate, investment accounts, minor children), this is a natural time to create one.

Execute a new healthcare power of attorney. Name someone you trust — a parent, sibling, adult child, or close friend — as your healthcare proxy. Indiana's automatic revocation removed your ex-spouse but did not replace them.

Execute a new financial power of attorney. Same principle: name a new agent who can manage your finances if you become incapacitated.

Update your advance directive (living will). If your existing directive referenced your former spouse in any capacity, replace it with a new one that reflects your current wishes and designees.

Review and update all beneficiary designations. Life insurance, retirement accounts, bank accounts with POD designations, brokerage accounts with TOD designations — walk through every financial account and confirm the named beneficiaries match your current intentions.

When to Involve an Attorney

For straightforward estates — a will, a POA, and a healthcare directive with no complex trust structures — many people use online legal services or self-help resources. For estates involving trusts, business interests, blended family considerations, or substantial assets, working with an estate planning attorney ensures the documents are properly coordinated.

Either way, the updates should not wait. The automatic revocations are a temporary safety net, not a permanent plan.

Organizing the Full Transition

The Indiana After-Divorce Checklist includes an estate planning section that walks through every document that needs updating, with a tracker for beneficiary designations across all account types.

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