How to Avoid the Most Common Gray Divorce Mistakes
When a couple that is over the age of 50 decides to part ways and dissolve their marriage, this is what we call a “Gray Divorce.”
Unlike divorces of younger couples, gray divorce can often be complex and lead to expensive mistakes if the divorce is approached without caution.
Here’s a look at 5 of the most common mistakes gray divorcees face as they attempt to navigate rough marital waters at a later stage in life.
Not Creating an Accurate Inventory of Assets
As a couple grows together over the years, the inventory of their assets is bound to diversify. During a gray divorce, it’s essential that every penny of shared assets is accounted for.
So, before moving forward with your divorce, meet with a financial expert and take inventory of your assets.
For gray divorces, this typically includes:
- Money in checking and savings accounts
- Retirement accounts
- Life insurance policies
- Executive compensation packages
- Stocks, and more!
Failing to Ensure You Qualify for Social Security Earnings
Many people believe that when they get divorced at a later age, one party is automatically eligible to receive social security from the ex-spouse’s earnings.
This divorce benefit isn’t always guaranteed and could leave someone short-changed if they wrongfully assume their eligibility and mistakenly accept a lower spousal support payment.
The sad fact of this assumption is that if it’s wrong, once the ink has dried on their divorce decree not only do they not receive social security payments from their ex, but they are out of potential finances from a healthy monthly alimony payment.
Forgetting Life Insurance Risks
If you are paying spousal support to your ex, you are legally required to have a life insurance policy in place that lasts for the duration of your alimony payments. While this isn’t usually an issue in a standard divorce, gray divorce can mean that a person’s life insurance policy may be on the verge of expiration at the time of divorce.
If this is the case, this means that the spouse paying alimony must take out another life insurance policy to cover their alimony obligation.
This can easily be an additional premium that costs a person thousands of dollars every year.
Assuming Your Right to a Pension
State and local governments offer their employees pension plans that are paid out until an employee passes away. When an older couple decides to get divorced, and one spouse has been receiving pension payments over the years, it’s easy for the other spouse to assume they are entitled to half of that pension payment.
Unfortunately, most government and civil servant pensions do not cover an ex-spouse, so it’s not a clean-cut process towards determining how to split the pension.
Assuming your right to your ex-spouse’s pension is incorrect, a qualified divorce lawyer can help you value a pension and ensure any shared assets are evenly divided.
Make the Right Moves With Your Gray Divorce With Nilsson Legal Group
If you and your spouse have decided it’s time to part ways, make sure you have an experienced Fort Worth divorce lawyer on your side. The team at Nilsson Legal Group can help ensure your gray divorce ends in fair results and helps you and your spouse part ways as amicably as possible.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and schedule your free consultation with a member of our firm.