Even the best-laid plans can go astray if you get divorced from a long-time spouse. Especially if you go your separate ways after raising children and acquiring property together, your estate plan may need to be revised, and pronto.

Frequently, the main objective in a divorce is to keep assets away from the ex-spouse while preserving wealth for the children. But this can become complicated when one or more of the children are still minors. Typically, your kids will be next in line to receive assets under your will.

What are the potential problems? Although a divorce generally erases the rights of an ex-spouse under a will, property going to minors will be held in a conservatorship until the age of majority in the state where you reside—usually, age 18. And, if your ex-spouse is the conservator, he or she may have more control over your assets than you would have liked. A court will supervise the conservator, but that person still has considerable discretion over what happens to property.