Hitting Your Diamond Wedding Anniversary but Choosing to Part Ways? Follow These Tips For a Smooth Transition Into Single Life

Divorces tend to be messy affairs. They can be overwhelming both mentally and financially. To separate from a person you had chosen to stay with for a lifetime demands a lot of emotional strength.

However, we’ve just learned that there is an ongoing and surging trend where couples are quitting on their marriage as late as after they turn 50 or 60. Apparently, such divorces are known as the ‘Gray Divorce’ or ‘Grey Divorce,’ and the couples are identified as ‘Diamond Divorcees’ or the ‘Silver Splitters.’

Deposit Photos | Forever is too long for some couples

Surveys undertaken from divorced couples reveal that divorces can make individuals vulnerable to financial misery and psychological disorders. This situation gets even worse if the couple chooses to separate close to retirement age.

Divorce is much more than the parting of ways

When you first hear of a divorced couple, you think of a failed marriage and the emotional trauma that follows their new identity as divorcees. Few people think of the ensuing division of assets and liabilities that arise after a divorce.

The different type of assets to consider

When two people enter a marital union, they promise to build a home together. Sometimes this may mean that both the participants will choose to work. Sometimes one partner limits themselves to a life at home. It all can influence the division of assets.

Similarly, in a married couple, some assets are the private property of one of the two, while some assets are under communal possession. Thus, the divorce attorney must consider all these assets when deciding upon a settlement.

Deposit Photos | Divorce attorneys have their work cut out for them

It is not enough to partition the assets based on their net worth. An expert attorney must also see the projected values of these assets and the other conditions that may stick themselves to the partners’ post-separation.

If a mother chooses to raise the children alone, she needs compensation to bear their expenditure. Similarly, the tax burden must also be considered when dividing assets. The depreciation charge of the asset, in the long run, must also be considered when deciding the split, to make a fair judgment, and to put both partners at equal footing for the future.

Why is divorce difficult on silver splitters?

Divorce can leech money out of your bank account and leave you poor- or at least in a position worse than before. You might be better mentally after getting out of an abusive marriage, but your financial situation would surely be muddy.

This rings even truer if you are divorcing past your youth. You are looking ahead at your retirement years and imagine half of your retirement savings being taken away. The years of planning you put into saving that nest of dollars are ruthlessly divided into two. You have even fewer years to replenish that account again to survive through your expected life span.

Deposit Photos | Now you can keep your savings to yourself

This may sound like a grim end to your long life or marriage but stay optimistic. If you are facing a gray divorce, remember, this is not an end. Take a financial advisor on board and plan for your future. Your decisions are no longer encumbered by your marital partner.

You can invest in ventures of your choice and reap swell in income. You can look for statuary benefits for divorcees. And lastly, you can make your own retirement plans that may cost you less. Earlier, you were making allowances for both of your dreams and hobbies, but now, your retirement income must only provide for you.

There may still be light at the end of the tunnel. Just wait it out and stay positive.