Here is a hypothetical scenario: Joan got a divorce from her ex-husband David several years ago. One day, while Joan is going through her personal files, she discovers a will she signed while she was still married. The will named David as her sole heir and executor of her estate.

This has Joan concerned: If something happens to her before she can speak with her attorney and have a new will drafted, will that mean her ex-husband would control her estate?

Fortunately for Joan, this is not what would happen. Maryland law actually provides for this exact sort of situation. Basically, once a court grants a divorce or annulment of a marriage, any will previously executed by either spouse is revoked with respect to any provisions “relating to the spouse.”

In other words, if you get a divorce, any language in your pre-divorce will naming your ex-spouse as either a beneficiary or executor of your estate is automatically void, but the rest of the will remains intact. Another way to look at this is that the law acts as if your ex-spouse had predeceased you. Of course, if you want to avoid any questions, it is best to make a new will as soon as possible after your divorce.

What Happens to a Spouse’s Inheritance Following Divorce?

A related question that often comes up is how divorce might affect an inheritance either spouse received during the marriage. For instance, let’s say our hypothetical divorcee Joan received a $20,000 inheritance from her aunt while she was still married to David. Generally speaking, Maryland law considers such an inheritance to be non-marital property, meaning Joan would not have to share any of that money with David in the divorce. However, if the court finds there was a “comingling” of assets–i.e., Joan used her inheritance money to pay for marital assets or debts–then it could be treated as a marital asset.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals also recently explained in an unpublished decision that even when divorce eliminates one ex-spouse’s right to an inheritance from the other ex-spouse, that does not necessarily prevent their right to inherit indirectly. The specific case before the Court, In Re Estate of Brandon, involved a complex situation in which a divorced woman was a beneficiary of her late mother’s estate. When she died, her son became the beneficiary of both her estate and that of her grandmother.

The son then passed away without leaving a will. His father–the mother’s ex-husband–then stood to inherit the son’s entire estate. Other family members challenged this, arguing that the father relinquished all of his inheritance rights from the ex-wife in the divorce. The Court of Special Appeals disagreed, explaining the ex-husband could still inherit from his son, even if some of the assets in the son’s estate included assets that his ex-wife inherited from her mother.

Speak with a Southern Maryland Family Law Attorney Today

This article has been provided by the Law office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions contact our office to speak to an experienced lawyer at (301) 870-1200.