Gray divorce has become more popular in recent years, with about one in four couples going through a gray divorce. Gray divorce involves couples over the age of 50 who decide to divorce.
To divorce later in life comes with a unique set of challenges that you may not see in younger marriages, explains Forbes.
Marital assets and division
Marital asset division is common in divorce. Often, in a gray divorce, the marriage lasted so long that it can be difficult to account for marital property and premarital property. Couples may have difficulty recalling which assets they had before marriage. It is not uncommon for couples to dispute what they believe to be theirs individually. A judge has the final say on all asset division.
Retirement accounts and benefits
In most divorces, you and your partner would split the wealth. In older couples, Social Security benefits and retirement accounts pose a new challenge. If you divorce over the age of 62, then you have to calculate how much Social Security you are eligible for. Pensions are joint assets and subject to division.
Health and life insurance coverage
In a marriage, it is common for one partner to receive health insurance benefits from his or her employer. Once you complete the divorce, the unemployed spouse loses all his or her health insurance benefits immediately. To be an older person with health insurance can be devastating. After all, health care costs increase as people age. Life insurance policies have the same risks. One partner can remove the other from his or her list of beneficiaries following the divorce.
