Filing For Divorce Post-Retirement? Things To Think About
A lot of the information and guidance about divorce preparation is focused on younger adults with children. However, even adults that are beyond the age of retirement sometimes find themselves pursuing a divorce. The fact is that divorce concerns are vastly different for those who have surpassed retirement age than what someone might need to consider as a parent of young children or a working-age adult. Here's a look at a couple of the things that you need to think about if you are beyond retirement and facing a possible divorce.
Consider Selling The House
One of the biggest single contentions of many divorces is who will retain possession of the family home. For those couples with children, possession of the family home usually remains with the parent who has primary custody of the children. This helps to ensure consistency for the kids.
If you are filing for divorce after retirement, there's a good chance that your children are grown and out on their own at this stage in your life. If so, there's no reason to be concerned about deciding who will keep the family home for the children.
You and your soon-to-be-ex should discuss the benefits of selling the family home and splitting the revenues. There's usually no reason to hold on to that property, and selling eliminates the debate about who will retain the home.
Talk With Your Attorney About The Social Security Laws
For those who have retired and are receiving social security benefits, there are some special considerations that apply when you are filing for divorce. In most situations, when someone files for social security at retirement, their spouse also receives an allotment each month from their social security account.
If you are filing for divorce, you might think that you are going to have to budget your finances without your spousal benefit. The truth is that, in most cases, you will still be entitled to a social security payment each month, until such time as you remarry, as part of spousal benefits provided that you were married for at least ten years.
You Need To Negotiate Retirement Fund Settlements
If you and your spouse were married well before retirement, you'll need to think about how your retirement funds will be distributed. If you both have funds that are fairly equal in value, you may just agree to each keep your respective accounts. However, if one spouse worked and the other stayed at home, there will have to be some equitable distribution of those retirement funds for the spouse who did not work. This is especially important when you file for divorce after retirement because, by that time, it may be extremely difficult for the spouse who stayed at home to be able to re-enter the workforce and support themselves.
There are many things about divorce that are similar no matter what stage of life you are in, but when you are retired, there are additional considerations you must address. A divorce lawyer can help make sure that you are adequately prepared.