When a Virginia couple gets divorced over the age of 50, money becomes the chief issue in the divorce. Specifically, each spouse is concerned about whether they will have enough money and assets to allow them to retire. The divorce means that one body of assets for retirement is divided into two. As a result, each spouse will need to be very intentional about their financial decisions in the divorce.
The first helpful thing that one needs to do is to plan for the divorce. This involves taking an inventory of the assets and anticipating what assets their spouse may have. After that, one needs to strategize to figure out what approach to take in the divorce negotiations. One cannot begin to try to settle the divorce with a scattershot approach because that is when they make mistakes that can impact them for the rest of their life.
Whenever one is making any type of decision in the divorce negotiations, they need to look at it against the backdrop of their financial future. Specifically, they must ask how it will affect their current standard of living and whether it can delay their retirement. While some of these impacts may be unavoidable, others may be handled with strategic negotiation. In other words, while divorce will hurt finances, it does not have to crush each spouse.
Before a spouse even begins to plan for divorce negotiations, they should consult with a divorce attorney. The lawyer may help prepare their client for the divorce so they know what they need to be asking for and how to make it happen. It is difficult to settle a divorce and divide the marital estate without the proper context for how the divorce process works. The attorney could also make his or her client’s life easier by handling many of the details.
