If you are in your 50s, 60s or 70s and considering a divorce then it is important to understand there will be some additional concerns to consider.
If you fail to consider these, then it will be harder to make the most of the rest of your life – which is presumably one of your goals in divorcing. Here are some:
Money to retire on
People who divorce younger have more working years to make their retirement funds back up. If you are close to retirement or have already retired when you divorce, you don’t have this luxury.
Ending your marriage may also mean you have to split any Social Security benefits you were due to receive which could leave a big hole in your retirement funds.
The flip side is that you may well own your house outright so could potentially sell it and each buy yourself a smaller place without a mortgage.
Health insurance
Getting health insurance can be prohibitively expensive in later life if you previously relied on coverage from your spouse’s work-related policy. You are also more likely to have pre-existing conditions that raise the price further or cause some insurers to reject you.
Grandchildren
Consider how divorcing will affect your ability to see any grandkids you have. You may need to accept that the big family Thanksgiving you so loved is a thing of the past and that you might not both be able to attend the grandkid’s birthday parties – unless, of course, you can keep your divorce amicable enough to allow this.
Divorce is never easy but if you want to maximize the rest of your life it may be well worth it. Taking legal guidance to examine how best to handle things is wise.