Why is divorce an estate planning event in Nebraska?

Divorce in Nebraska isn’t just a family-law issue. It’s also an estate-planning event because it changes (or should change) who inherits from you, who controls your assets if you die, and who can make decisions for you if you’re incapacitated. Nebraska has a powerful “revocation on divorce” statute—Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2333—that automatically revokes many revocable gifts and fiduciary appointments benefiting a former spouse, and it can also revoke certain provisions benefiting relatives of a former spouse (yes, that can include former in-laws). It also addresses property ownership by severing joint tenancy survivorship between former spouses. That sounds comforting, but it’s not the same thing as having an updated plan. Statutory revocation is a safety net, not a substitute for intentionally naming new decision-makers, setting up child-focused inheritance planning, and updating beneficiary forms with the institutions that actually hold your money.

Here’s the most common way people get burned: they assume “the divorce removed my ex from everything,” but the estate plan they made during the marriage is still sitting there with holes in it—no clear executor, no clear trustee, no backup agents, outdated beneficiary forms, and sometimes joint property still titled in ways that cause problems if someone dies. Then something happens: a medical emergency, an unexpected death, or a family dispute. And suddenly the question isn’t “what did you want,” it’s “what does the paperwork say,” and “what does the statute do,” and “who has authority right now.”

Divorce is the moment to make your plan match reality. That usually means updating (1) your will and any trust, (2) your beneficiary designations, (3) your incapacity documents (financial power of attorney and health care power of attorney), and (4) any lingering ownership issues in real estate or other jointly titled assets. The goal isn’t more documents. The goal is fewer surprises and fewer court fights—especially for your kids.

Quick take: what Nebraska law changes automatically—and what you still must update

Nebraska’s revocation-on-divorce law can automatically revoke many revocable gifts and appointments to a former spouse, and it can reach certain provisions benefiting relatives of the former spouse who are no longer related to you after divorce.  But it does not “finish the job” for you. It does not pick new beneficiaries, it does not reliably solve every beneficiary designation issue, and it does not guarantee your financial institutions will treat the result the way you assume they will without updated forms and updated documents.

If you want a smart-friend rule of thumb, it’s this: treat divorce as the trigger to update your plan right away, not as the event that magically updates it for you. That’s especially true for powers of attorney (because timing can matter) and for employer retirement plans (because federal rules can override state law).

What Nebraska’s revocation-on-divorce statute actually does (and the “relative of the ex” trap)

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2333 is Nebraska’s primary “revocation by divorce” statute. It’s designed to prevent a very specific problem: people forget to update estate planning documents after divorce, and an ex-spouse (or someone closely tied to the ex) still inherits or still ends up in charge. Under the statute, divorce can revoke revocable dispositions and appointments made to a former spouse in a “governing instrument,” and it can also revoke certain provisions benefiting a former spouse’s relatives who are no longer related to you by marriage once the divorce is final. 

That “relative of the ex” concept is a sleeper issue. During a marriage, it’s not unusual to name a spouse’s sibling as a backup executor, or a spouse’s parent as a contingent beneficiary, or a spouse’s relative as a trustee “because they’re good with money.” After divorce, those choices often don’t fit your intent anymore. Nebraska’s statute is sticky enough that it may revoke some of those provisions automatically, but you still don’t want to rely on statute to do delicate planning. You want a clean, updated plan that reads like you wrote it on purpose.

Joint tenancy after divorce in Nebraska: what happens to survivorship

Another key effect of Nebraska’s revocation-on-divorce law is how it treats property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship. After divorce, survivorship between former spouses is severed, converting the ownership into a tenancy in common (in plain language: each of you owns a share, and your share doesn’t automatically pass to the other at death). 

This is a big deal if you remain co-owners for any period of time after the divorce—especially with real estate. Before divorce, survivorship can make ownership transfer automatic at death. After divorce, your share may pass through your estate plan (or intestacy), which can create friction between your heirs and your ex if there isn’t a clear plan for the property.

Health care POA vs. financial POA in Nebraska: the timing difference people miss

Health care decision-making and financial decision-making are not treated identically, and this is one of the most practical reasons divorce is an estate-planning event.

For a financial power of attorney, Nebraska’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act is explicit: an agent’s authority terminates when an action is filed for dissolution/annulment or legal separation of the agent’s marriage to the principal—unless the power of attorney says otherwise.  In other words, if your spouse is your agent under a financial POA, you can lose that authority when the case is filed, not months later when the decree is entered. That’s why the safest advice is to update your financial POA early in the divorce process.

For a health care power of attorney, Nebraska’s health care decision statute addresses revocation and effect, and the divorce decree can matter in how authority is treated.  The practical risk is the same either way: if you named your spouse and didn’t name a solid backup, you can end up in a medical crisis with no clear agent, which can force your family into guardianship/conservatorship litigation when what you really needed was an updated document.

Beneficiary designations in Nebraska: where the biggest money mistakes happen

Even in states with revocation-on-divorce statutes, beneficiary designations are where people most often get surprised, because these assets frequently transfer outside the will. Life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death accounts, and similar assets can pay based on the form on file—regardless of what your old will says.

Nebraska’s § 30-2333 defines “governing instrument” broadly enough that people sometimes assume their beneficiary forms are “handled.”  But the best practice is still simple: do not assume—update the forms. Not because Nebraska law is weak, but because the institutions holding the accounts often operate on their own rules and paperwork requirements, and because federal law can override state law for many employer plans.

The ERISA wall: why your 401(k) is different (and why Egelhoff matters)

Many employer-sponsored retirement plans (like 401(k)s and some life insurance benefits through work) are governed by a federal law called ERISA. In Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, the U.S. Supreme Court held that ERISA preempted a state “revocation on divorce” statute as applied to ERISA plan benefits.  The smart-friend translation is blunt: if your ex is still the named beneficiary on an ERISA-governed plan, the plan administrator may be required to pay your ex, even if state law would otherwise treat that designation as revoked.

This is why I treat beneficiary updates as “must do” items, not “nice to do” items. It’s also why divorce decrees and waivers don’t always work the way people think they work unless the plan rules are satisfied.

Planning for children after divorce: inheritance control matters as much as inheritance

Most parents don’t want their kids to be unprotected financially. They want the right people to manage money for the kids, at the right ages, under the right guardrails. Divorce forces you to revisit the “who manages it” question, because marriage-era documents often assume the spouse will naturally manage everything.

If your plan leaves assets outright to minor children, you may accidentally trigger court involvement through a conservatorship. If your plan routes control through a former spouse (directly or indirectly), you may be giving authority to someone you no longer trust, or setting your family up for conflict. A post-divorce estate plan is where you can intentionally choose trustees, define distribution standards, and create a structure that protects kids without creating needless litigation.

What should a Nebraska resident do during or after divorce to protect their estate plan?

During or after a Nebraska divorce, the best approach is coordinated, not random. You want your divorce decree, your will/trust, your beneficiary designations, and your incapacity documents to tell the same story. Nebraska’s revocation rules can revoke certain provisions, but they don’t rebuild your plan or fill the gaps for you. 

In most cases, that coordinated approach looks like this in real life: you update your financial power of attorney early (because filing can terminate spouse-agent authority), you update your health care power of attorney so medical decision-making is clear, you review and update beneficiary designations with every provider (especially employer plans), and you then update your will and any trust so the document is clean, coherent, and child-focused.

FAQs about divorce and estate planning in Nebraska

Does Nebraska law automatically remove my ex-spouse from my will?

Nebraska’s revocation-on-divorce statute can revoke many revocable gifts and fiduciary appointments to a former spouse, but it does not rewrite your plan or choose replacements. Updating your will is still the best way to avoid gaps and confusion. 

Does Nebraska’s statute revoke gifts to my former in-laws too?

It can. § 30-2333 can revoke certain provisions benefiting relatives of the former spouse who are no longer related to you after the divorce. That’s one reason a post-divorce review is worth doing even if you think you “didn’t leave anything to your ex.” 

When does my spouse’s authority under a financial power of attorney end?

Under Nebraska’s power of attorney statute, an agent’s authority terminates when an action is filed for dissolution/annulment or legal separation—unless the POA provides otherwise. 

Why is my 401(k) beneficiary such a big deal after divorce?

Because ERISA can preempt state revocation-on-divorce laws. Egelhoff v. Egelhoff is the landmark case explaining why plan administrators may have to follow the beneficiary designation on file, even if state law or your assumptions point the other way. 

If I do nothing after divorce, will Nebraska law “save me”?

Sometimes it helps, but it’s not designed to complete a thoughtful plan. It can revoke certain provisions, but it won’t name new fiduciaries, won’t guarantee your accounts are updated, and can leave you exposed to delays, disputes, and court involvement.