Divorce and Your Joint Living Trust in California: What Changes Automatically—and What Doesn’t
A lot of married couples in California use a joint revocable living trust (often just called a “living trust”) as the centerpiece of their estate plan. While you’re married, it’s a convenient way to manage community property (assets generally earned/acquired during the marriage) and keep things simple if one spouse dies.
But divorce changes the picture—and the scary part is that some changes happen only after the divorce is final, while other parts of your plan may not update themselves at all. Here’s what to know, and how to handle revisions during and after a divorce.
(This post is general information, not legal advice for your specific situation.)
What a “joint trust estate plan” usually includes
When people say “we have a trust,” they often mean a full package:
The joint trust (and instructions about who inherits and who manages the trust)
Pour-over wills (wills that act as a “backup” to direct remaining assets into the trust)
Beneficiary designations (life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death accounts)
Powers of attorney (who can handle finances if you can’t)
Advance health care directives (who can make medical decisions if you can’t)
Divorce can affect each of these differently.
What California law may change automatically after the divorce is final
California has several “automatic revocation” rules—meaning that, unless your document expressly says otherwise, certain gifts or roles for an ex-spouse are typically treated as revoked once a marriage is dissolved (final divorce judgment) or annulled.
Common examples:
Wills: Gifts to a former spouse and certain nominations (like executor) are generally revoked upon dissolution/annulment, unless the will says otherwise.
Many nonprobate transfers: Certain transfers at death that happen outside probate (for example, some beneficiary-style transfers) to a former spouse generally fail if you’re divorced at the time of death, unless an exception applies.
Financial power of attorney: If your spouse is named as your agent (“attorney-in-fact”), that designation is generally revoked upon dissolution/annulment.
Health care agent: If your spouse is named as your health care agent, that designation is generally revoked upon dissolution/annulment.
One big takeaway: these rules usually don’t protect you during the divorce process—they generally kick in after the divorce is final.
What often does NOT change automatically (and causes the most trouble)
Even with the automatic rules above, many real-world problems remain:
The joint trust doesn’t “split itself.” The trust may still own your house, accounts, and other assets, and it may still require both spouses to act as co-trustees (which can be a nightmare mid-divorce).
Your ex might still have control while you’re alive. Automatic revocation rules often focus on what happens at death or after the divorce is final—not who can act today as trustee, agent, or account owner.
If you die before the divorce is final, your spouse may still have spouse-rights. This is one reason divorce and estate planning need to be coordinated early.
Beneficiary changes may be restricted during the case. In many divorces (and legal separations), California’s standard restraining orders in the summons can restrict actions like changing beneficiaries on certain insurance coverage without consent or court order.
Best practices during a divorce
Think of this as “stabilize first, then rebuild.”
Tell your divorce lawyer you have a joint trust (early).
Estate planning steps can unintentionally violate divorce court orders or complicate property division.Get organized: copy of documents + a current asset list.
You want a clear list of what’s in the trust, what’s outside it, and what has beneficiary designations.Prioritize incapacity planning.
Even if some spouse-agent roles revoke at divorce, you may still want to update now so your spouse isn’t the default decision-maker if something happens mid-case.Be careful with beneficiary changes.
Even when a change is “morally obvious,” it may not be legally permitted during the divorce without agreement or court order (especially with certain insurance coverage).Use the divorce settlement to force clarity.
A good marital settlement agreement should address: who keeps which assets, who refinances, what happens to life insurance/retirement accounts, and how (and when) the trust will be divided or replaced.
Best practices after the divorce is final
This is where you cleanly rebuild your plan.
Create a new estate plan that matches your new life. New trust (or restated trust), new will, and updated fiduciary choices.
Actually re-title (“fund”) assets. Deeds, bank/brokerage accounts, business interests—your new plan only works if ownership matches it.
Update beneficiary designations intentionally. Retirement accounts and life insurance are often the biggest transfers at death—don’t assume your trust controls them.
Update your agents and backups. New financial agent, new health care agent, and new successor trustees.
Revisit guardian nominations if you have minor children. Divorce doesn’t change parenthood, but it often changes who you’d want as backups.