Once you have been married for decades, you might think that you are immune to the possibility of divorce. This isn’t the case because divorces later in life are becoming more common. Even if you have been married a long time, you should still plan properly if you find out your marriage is ending.
One thing that you might not have to worry about if you are divorcing later in life is coming to a child custody agreement. Your children are probably adults now, so custody schedules and support orders aren’t going to be a part of the divorce.
Even though you might have to worry about issues related to children, you will likely have to battle through issues regarding assets that you and your ex have. The property division process can be especially difficult later in life because you have to determine how to split retirement accounts. This might not be a straightforward issue for you to deal with, so be sure that you have some idea about asset valuation and how it might impact these cases.
Another thing that you have to think about is how the divorce will impact your estate plan. You will need to update your will unless you still want your ex to get items in your estate. You also have to think about financial accounts and insurance accounts that have a beneficiary or payable on death listed.
From the start of the divorce until the finalization, you have to think about what is best for you. Consider the choices that you have so that you can start your single life as quickly and easily as possible.
Source: FindLaw, “Tips for Divorcing Late in Life,” Christopher Coble, Esq., accessed Feb. 10, 2017
