Divorce should put an early end to the marriage vow of “’til death does us part.” But, when it comes to estate disputes, neither divorce nor death can part the path to the courthouse.  In In re: Estate of Boyd, the husband and wife may have suspected their marriage could end: after 15 years of marriage, they separated, reconciled, and then entered into a post-nuptial agreement.  The agreement provided how assets would be distributed if the parties were married at the time of either’s death and provided for distribution of assets if the parties separated or filed for divorce prior to death.  The latter provision is relevant.

The husband filed for divorce and died hours later.  The wife filed a petition for year’s support in the probate

It’s not uncommon for couples to divorce and remarry each other or separate and contemplate divorce but stay married.  If a couple does reconcile, they probably want to make sure they review and clean-up any estate planning done during the separation or after the divorce but before the remarriage.

In Steffens v. Evans, a Florida Court of Appeals ruled that a wife waived all of her beneficial rights under her husband’s will by executing a post-nuptial agreement after the husband had executed his will.