The incident and attendant health crisis of Lamar Odom are a sobering teaching point. Life changes and disability or death can be sudden and they should be planned for.

In the California legal system, this meant that legally, a marriage was intact. The absence of a healthcare proxy, living will or power of attorney placed the responsibility for medical decisions in the hands of the still current wife, a situation that most individuals in divorce would not wish.

The Odom case demonstrates that the intersection of divorce and estate planning can be complicated and something you should contemplate ahead of time. While divorce severs the majority of relationship responsibilities, an estate plan requires updating and careful consideration at the time so that caregiving wishes may be separated from divorcing parties. To learn more about how to structure your estate planning in line with your current needs, contact an estate planning attorney today.