Are you among the growing number of people who are ending their marriages after decades together? More and more people in their 50s and older are deciding that it’s not too late to make big changes in their life and pursue their own goals, plans and dreams independently.
Likely, your concerns as you prepare for divorce at this stage of your life are very different from what they would have been in your 30s. While each divorce is unique, some matters are more critical to older divorcing people than to younger ones. Let’s look at a few.
Arizona’s community property law
If you have been married for a long time, most of your assets are likely marital property. Under Arizona’s community property law, most property acquired (individually or jointly) after marriage is subject to equal division.
That doesn’t mean you have to divide your assets equally if you and your spouse agree on another arrangement or if you have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement saying otherwise. However, for a judge to sign off on it, your property division agreement needs to be fair to both parties.
Division of retirement accounts
If you and your spouse have both worked for many years, your retirement savings may be substantial. It’s crucial to know how to divide individual retirement accounts (IRAs), employer-sponsored retirement accounts like 401(k)s and pension plans without incurring penalties for withdrawing funds and transferring them to your spouse. For example, a qualified domestic relation order (QDRO) is needed for ERISA-based plans like 401(k)s.
Spousal maintenance (alimony)
Often, after several decades of marriage, one spouse has a significantly higher income than the other. The lesser-earning spouse may have taken some breaks from full-time work to care for the kids or have been able to devote their time to charitable work or another passion like art or photography while their spouse was the primary or sole “breadwinner.”
Whichever side of this equation you’re on, it’s important to know what factors are used to determine whether one spouse is entitled to alimony as well as how much and for how long. This can affect both spouses’ quality of life as they move forward after divorce.
These are just a few things to consider. You may have others. What’s important is to get your own divorce team assembled as early as possible. That includes sound legal guidance as well as financial, tax and real estate professionals separate from those you’ve shared with your spouse over the years. This can help you ensure a sound financial future for yourself.