People get divorced at all ages. If you’re over the age of 50 and decide to divorce, you may be grouped into a group of those called gray divorcees.
Gray divorces are complex, because they can include many additional property division challenges compared to a divorce involving younger couples. Issues such as how to handle your IRA, 401(k), stocks, businesses and other assets may become prominent.
You can go through a divorce with your retirement in mind
One thing you have to think about as a gray divorcee is how your divorce may impact your retirement. If you’re only 50 or 55 now, you still have several years to decide how to boost your retirement. You might have more time to invest or to consider your options at this age.
If you’re already at or past retirement, you have to consider how your divorce could influence your monthly pension or Social Security. You should also think about how dividing your IRA or 401(k) could influence your longer-term retirement plans.
How can you protect yourself during a gray divorce?
If you want to protect yourself and assets during your gray divorce, it’s first important to figure out which assets are separate or marital property. For example, some of your retirement may be from before you got married. In that case, it may be that only the value of the retirement account added during your marriage will be included in your property division settlement. The same might be true of your stocks or real estate.
It’s a good idea to think ahead, too. Talk to your attorney about the bare minimum you need to leave the marriage and still have the means to support yourself and have the retirement you were hoping for. By knowing your budget and the amount of financial support you need, you’ll be in a better position to negotiate and be thorough with your reasoning for asking for certain items.
The right approach can help you protect more of your assets, so consider starting with your budget and finding out the true value of the assets in your possession to know how to approach your property division negotiations.