Once you’ve hit 50 in California, you’ve no doubt seen a lot in life. This often means that you handle things differently that your younger self would have – even the hardest and most serious aspects of life, such as divorce.
Watch out for special issues
Still, mistakes can be made by even the wisest and most experienced. Extra care must be taken with situations like high-asset divorce, for instance, because of the value of the assets involved.
While it’s increasingly rare for Americans in general to get divorced, there’s one demographic that’s an exception to this rule. More people over the age of 50 are deciding that it’s time to move on with life so they can see what else is out there to experience, and this means leaving behind a marriage that just wasn’t working. Maybe it was never truly working and they’re finally deciding to throw in the towel.
What causes these later-in-life divorces?
The things that used to hold the marriage together things they liked to do together are children, interests in common or financial dependence. Oftentimes, when you remove one thing from the picture – like bringing up a household full of children, it can lead to the elimination of the other things that were also binding the couple to one another. Financially independence, for instance, might suddenly not seem so out of reach.
Keep track of everything, including every debt and asset. The creation of a comprehensive inventory is crucial in high-asset divorces. Your retirement account, health insurance and tax implications should also play into in these considerations.
With any high-asset divorce for couples over 50, a certified divorce financial analyst will serve you well. It’s all too easy to get lost in the weeds otherwise, and this is a situation where the stakes are – by definition – high.