It is rare for anyone to describe their divorce as simple or trouble-free yet the fact remains that the impact of a divorce on a person’s life can vary quite a bit based on what stage of life they are in when the divorce happens. Divorcing with very young children, for example, places a high emphasis on the need to raise children together even while not being a couple. Divorcing when retirement is on the horizon opens up a whole other set of issues.
Called gray divorce, the term refers to the growing number of couples choosing to end their marriages in their 50s, 60s or even later. Some of these marriages may have lasted for several decades while other may have been shorter in duration and possibly even second marriages. Either way, spouses should pay attention to some important financial matters during these divorces.
Kiplinger notes that the ability to retire may be altered for a person getting divorced at a later stage of life as the money set aside to fund retirement may well be significantly reduced after the divorce is complete. For couples who have been married a very long time, one spouse may well be required to pay spousal support to the other for an extended period. The tax implications of these payments may have a big impact on the overall divorce settlement terms.
Forbes explains that spouses facing a gray divorce may want to learn about if or how they may claim Social Security benefits on their former spouse’s work history. They may also want to consider how they would like to approach inheritances for their joint children once their divorce has been finalized.
