Grey Divorce And Finances: What You Need To Know

Posted on: 25 November 2020

The divorce rate continues to increase with older couples. Sadly, marriages can still end even after decades. These divorces are often referred to as grey divorce and they come with their own special challenges. Retirement planning is chief among one of the most integral issues to work out in a grey divorce. Here is what you need to know:

Retirement Planning

Divorce can cause a significant problem for those who are also planning on retirement. If one of you worked primarily, the other may not have saved enough for their own retirement with the intent to share in retirement benefits. Other issues come into play if one of you had primary control over the money management in your marriage. One of you may have no idea of how much money you have or have any knowledge of your financial situation.

You also need to consider the expense of your divorce and its impact on your retirement. Getting a divorce is costly and you may have to divert some of your retirement funds to help pay your legal expenses. This means you may have to work longer to rebuild your retirement until you have replenished your funds.  

Avoiding Financial Issues

If you are nearing retirement age and you know you will be getting a divorce, you should consider the challenges to your retirement as early as you can. There are some steps you can take to ease the burden of divorce. First, familiarize yourself with your marital finances if you are not already. You should prepare a budget for yourself, including expenses for housing and daily expenses so you know how much money you will need upon retirement. If you have any joint accounts, such as credit cards or bank accounts, you should cancel them also.

In most grey divorce situations, you likely will not have any child support or custody disputes as your children are grown into adulthood, which eases the process somewhat. However, you also have to take pensions and Social Security benefits into consideration. In many states, these benefits are to be divided among spouses when they divorce. If you do not have your own retirement benefits, this will be useful to you.

You need to work with an attorney who is experienced in grey divorce. A divorce attorney with this experience knows how to handle your finances and retirement issues at a later age and can help ensure you each receive a fair settlement. Reach out to a divorce lawyer in your area to learn more. 

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