The Kardashian clan has been useful to many pundits as examples of how not to live one’s life (unless the only goal is to be famous and rich) and has not let us down again following the health crisis of Lamar Odom. Odom is in the process of divorcing Khloe Kardashian which, since the dissolution is not yet final, left in her in charge of his health care decisions and as the beneficiary of his estate in the event he died. This is not what Odom would likely have desired under normal circumstances and shows the need for those in the process of divorce to create a living will and health care directive as well as a traditional will that would prevent the estate from passing to the estranged spouse. A marriage that is not yet dissolved still imparts privileges on a spouse no matter if the parties intended for all marital rights to cease so additional planning will be need to cover the gap between separation and the legal end of the union. While Odom appears to have avoided the worst consequences of his ex being in charge, this will not always be the case so always prepare for the worst case scenario involving divorce and an unexpected health crisis.
See John P. Dedon, Kardashian Family Continues to Teach Estate Planning Lessons, National Law Review, October 29, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
