In some divorce cases, the marital estate is large because the spouses are financially successful professionals. Other times, the duration of the marriage is a key contributing factor to the overall size of the marital estate.
Gray divorces involve couples in their 50s, 60s or even later in life who have potentially spent the vast majority of their adult lives together. They may have become accustomed to a particular standard of living. They likely share ownership of most of their major resources.
Spouses who divorce after decades of marriage often face challenges during property division proceedings. The size and complexity of their marital estate can potentially make their upcoming gray divorce particularly challenging to navigate. The more property that spouses have to divide, the more opportunities there are for disagreements.
Older couples may share most of their resources
Middle-class couples who have spent decades sharing their lives and finances may have seven-figure retirement savings accounts and may have already paid off their mortgages, meaning they have hundreds of thousands of dollars in accumulated home equity. Most of their assets, ranging from their pensions to their vehicles, are likely marital property.
Spouses may argue over what their resources are worth and how to fairly split them. Securing appropriate terms can be of the utmost importance, especially considering their age. They may not be likely to remain in the workforce for many years after the divorce. Therefore, they need to protect themselves as they negotiate a property division settlement.
Those preparing for high-asset divorces, including gray divorces, often require support as they evaluate their marital estates and prepare for family court. Sitting down with a lawyer can help people understand property division rules and roughly predict what assets they can retain after they divorce.