On behalf of The Marks Law Firm, L.L.C. posted in Divorce on Friday, June 1, 2012
One out of every four divorces happening these days is among baby boomers. As this age group gets closer to and enters retirement, asset division during a divorce can become much more complex and sensitive retirement resources can become harder to preserve.
Experts often advise boomers to work with a wide variety of professionals including financial planners and mediators, along with their own attorneys, to find a way to efficiently separate the assets without causing huge financial hardship. Divorce is a difficult financial hurdle for many couples anyways, but adding in the management of retirement assets is a new layer of complexity.
The recession has also thrown a curve ball to many people expecting to retire in the next few years. Many investment-based retirement accounts have lost value, and experts advise couples to take this into account when they start to discuss a divorce. “The biggest concern is that, in many cases, they didn’t have enough to make it work with the two of them,” says a certified financial planner. “Splitting it down the middle makes it worse.”
One important element of a successful divorce near retirement age is making sure that you know what you’re legally entitled to. There may be a temptation to compromise or shift assets for tax or other reasons, but individuals still need to keep in mind what their entitlements are when making tradeoffs. Especially when deciding if one person should keep the house or not, maintenance costs and long-term property values should be considered.
Source: Fox Business, “Graying Divorces: What Boomers Need to Know to Protect Their Assets,” Andrea Murad, May 25, 2012