Sioux Falls Family Law Blog

In South Dakota and across the country, millennials are getting married later in life and are subsequently getting divorced at lower rates than those in older age groups. If you're age 50 or beyond, you may be one of many spouses who are considering or have taken steps to file for divorce in a civil court. In fact, the divorce rate for baby boomers has more than doubled in the past 20 years.

Divorcing later in life has significant emotional, financial and logistical implications. Many older spouses have stayed home full-time for decades because they sacrificed careers to raise their children. It can present tremendous challenges when it comes to obtaining gainful employment, which, in turn, can greatly affect your post-divorce finances. Understanding issues that often prompt gray divorce and how to overcome obstacles that may arise can help you move on in life if you're severing ties.

Winding down the year, you may be thinking of making resolutions and setting goals for 2019. Instead of the ones you make each year, like losing weight and saving money, perhaps you would like to do more to demonstrate your love for your family. One easy way to do this is to make sure your estate plan is up-to-date and relevant.

Hardly a year goes by that doesn't bring some change in a person's life. Over the past year, you may have had fluctuations in the makeup of your family, your finances or your opinions. Even amendments in tax laws can affect your estate plan. These kinds of changes can render the most solid estate plan obsolete, leaving your loved ones with frustration and potential legal disputes. Taking steps from time to time to review your plan can relieve your family of these heartaches.

After your death, many steps will still need attending to, and most of those go far beyond ensuring that your funeral takes place in the manner you deemed appropriate. Rather, your estate will need closing in the proper manner, and because you will not be around to ensure that takes place, you may want to utilize your estate plan to instruct how certain duties should be handled and who should handle them.

The person in charge of closing your estate is your personal representative. If you create a will, this individual will take on the role of executor, and you can indicate who you want to act in that position. Of course, because the person in this position has much power and responsibility, you will certainly want to choose carefully.

As an estate planning attorney, I often meet with clients who tell me they "need" a revocable trust. When I ask why, the most common answer is because they heard Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman or some other television or radio personality state that everyone needs a revocable trust. Although revocable trusts can be very beneficial, not everyone needs a revocable trust.