If you’re filing for a divorce, whether you’ve had a previous durable power of attorney or not, you should delegate someone other than your spouse to be your decision-maker and create a new durable power of attorney.
In Utah, the advanced healthcare directive will allow you to handpick someone to be involved with all your medical decision-making.
You also have a will or a trust that specifies how assets will be distributed among beneficiaries. If you don’t have a will or trust in place, most assets default to your spouse. Until a judge signs the divorce decree, your former spouse is still legally considered your spouse and thus is entitled to their own legal rights.
Estate PlanningIt’s relatively easy to make changes to your estate based on what happens in life, so it’s wise to keep it updated. Overall, the durable power of attorney and advanced healthcare directive are the most important documents which everyone should have. If you have children or assets for which you have specific interests, then you should certainly be thinking about a will or a trust as well.