For better or for worse, all marriages end. Even within the same jurisdiction, the rights and obligations attendant to the termination of a marriage vary, depending upon whether the union ends by reason of divorce or death. Planning for the termination of a marriage, by either cause, requires the knowledge of both matrimonial and estate laws, and of how these intersect.
By definition, the ending of a marriage by divorce is almost always contested. Increasingly, the termination of a marriage by death is becoming contested as well. The ability to use agreements – before, during or after marriage – to plan for the termination of one’s union varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
