Are there mistakes that could make my divorce harder?
Lately there seems to be an interesting dynamic shift when it comes to divorce in the United States. The overall number of people getting a divorce is going down, but the numbers are increasing for people 50 years old and above. In fact, according to statistics, since 1990, the divorce rate for people over 50 years has doubled.
There are many possible explanations for the ever-increasing divorce rate for older Americans. One reason is probably because the children have left the nest and they no longer provide an excuse for the couple to stay together since they are no longer there. Another possible reason is that as the spouses age, they may acquire independent wealth and no longer need each other for that type of support. Additionally, as a couple stays in the marriage for a long time, they either grow together or they grow apart. There are no other options. If they grow apart, there is little reason to stay together.
Financial devastation
If the divorcing couple is still dependent on one another financially, the divorce can make them suffer. The truth is that the older the spouses are, the less time they have to build up their accounts and to pay off the debts that they may have accrued. Also, the older a person is, the closer they are to retirement. In retirement, there is a good chance that the income that will be coming in will be a lot less than what was coming in when they were working. If you think about this in terms of divorced women’s financial standing and you couple it with the fact that women (statistically) live long than men, those women may find themselves in a very difficult financial situation.
Common mistakes in divorce
Many people make mistakes as they are divorcing and those mistakes can potentially make the situation much more difficult and less tolerable. One of those mistakes is not creating a list of the assets that the couple owns jointly. This may negatively affect one of the spouses when they go to divide the assets fairly. Another possible mistake is holding onto the house that the couple owned jointly. If only one person is responsible for paying for everything, it may be a lot more difficult to keep the house running successfully. Other important issues to consider in a divorce are paying taxes (and tax repercussions), paying health insurance, rolling over the other spouse’s retirement money into an IRA, and not understanding how much things cost and budgeting accordingly.
Obtaining the services of the right divorce lawyer
If you are seriously considering getting a divorce, a knowledgeable New York divorce lawyer may make a tremendous difference to your situation. The lawyer may be able to help you to avoid mistakes that come back to haunt you. It is possible that your divorce is simple and straightforward but it may also be complicated and difficult to handle on your own. No matter what you need, your lawyer can help you to navigate the divorce process and to understand what you are dealing with and protect your rights at the same time. Hopefully, you will walk away in the end with the feeling that you got what you needed and wanted without too much pain.