Are you getting divorced, obtaining a dissolution, or annulling your marriage? Has your spouse or partner died? If so, then you should consider reevaluating your estate planning documents as soon as possible.
According to Section 2107.33(D) of the Ohio Revised Code, once a person has signed a will, if he or she is divorced, obtains a dissolution, obtains an annulment, or legally separates from his or her spouse, any provisions in the will appointing the former spouse as executor will be revoked unless the will specifically states otherwise. For example, if Mary’s will appoints her husband, John, as executor of her estate and then they get divorced, John’s appointment of executor becomes null and void, and the next person named in the will becomes executor.
Additionally, according to Section 2107.33(E) of the Ohio Revised Code, divorced spouses will not inherit from each other based on termination of the marriage. Their property will be distributed as if they did not survive each other. For example, if Mary’s will gives all of her property to her husband, John, and then to her sister, Beth, if John doesn’t survive Mary, but then Mary and John get divorced, all of Mary’s property will go to Beth as if John died before Mary even if John survives Mary.
If a couple remarries, the will’s powers and distributions remain as if the couple never terminated the marriage. A similar law applies to beneficiary designations of payable-on-death assets, so a re-marriage will require new beneficiary designations.
Further, if a former spouse marries a new spouse, the new spouse will have rights known as statutory marital rights defined in Section 2106 of the Ohio Revised Code that allow the new spouse to obtain certain property before any beneficiaries identified in the will obtain their distributions. (This is a compelling reason to get a Prenup!)
While Ohio law automatically enforces the revocations of power and distribution, it is much easier and more efficient to update your estate plan documents to reflect your true intentions, whether or not your intentions include your former spouse.
Finally, if a couple divorces, but they want to keep each other as beneficiaries and fiduciaries of their estates, they should sign new wills. However, outside a divorce, if a spouse dies, the contingent beneficiary or successor named will be “next in line.”