Regardless of the circumstances, divorce is rarely easy. It forces you to financially and emotionally untangle your life from someone you loved for years, and the triggering event for your dissolution can be extremely painful.
But the process can be even more complex when you divorce later in life since there are unique challenges with these so called “gray divorces.” And you have to properly navigate these issues if you want to give yourself stability as you move into the next phase of your life.
But what are the unique challenges that you’ll face in your gray divorce? Let’s take a closer look so that you know what to expect from your marriage dissolution process and what you can do to advocate for the divorce outcome that you need.
Unique challenges in a gray divorce
When you head into your gray divorce, you need to be prepared to face some unique issues. If you’re not, then you could find yourself reeling from the realities of your situation once your divorce is finalized. Therefore, as you start the marriage dissolution process, take the following matters into account:
- Spousal support: Although alimony issues aren’t reserved for gray divorces, marriages that have lasted for a significant period of time, as well as those divorces that occur later in life, can have special considerations. For example, if you get divorced when you’re near retirement age, then you might be in a better position to seek more spousal support since you’ll have limited time to train yourself, secure and advance in a career, and replenish your retirement savings.
- Social Security and pension benefits: In some circumstances, those who go through divorce later in life are able to access their spouse’s pension and Social Security retirement benefits. If you overlook these assets in your divorce, then you’ll miss an opportunity to secure a significant amount of financial support.
- Health insurance: As you age, you’re likely going to need more medical care. If you don’t have health insurance coverage, then your medical expenses can quickly devastate your financial stability. And if you have to pay for your own insurance policy, then you’ll find that premiums are exorbitant. Take these additional costs into consideration during your gray divorce, particularly if you don’t have coverage through your own employer.
- Inheritances: Those who get divorced later in life oftentimes have acquired an inheritance. You have to properly assess whether these assets are marital or separate property, as that will dictate whether they’re subject to division in your gray divorce.
- Debt division: While all divorces deal with this issue, it can be hard to handle a portion of the marital debt on your own when your income will be significantly reduced or if you have no income at all. So, be careful with how you address this issue in your divorce so that you’re not consumed by debt when you start the next chapter of your life.
Confidently navigate your gray divorce
There are several other issues that are important in your gray divorce. You have to fully understand them so that you can competently navigate them to your advantage.
That might seem overwhelming, but there are legal strategies that you can develop early on in your marriage dissolution to position yourself for the successful outcome that you envision.
So, if it looks like your marriage is coming to an end and divorce is on the horizon, then now is the time to start thinking about how to craft legal arguments that protect your interests.