As in most other states, many Wisconsin marriages will end in divorce this year. If yours is one of them, you may worry about numerous issues, especially finances. Perhaps you set your career aside when you were younger so that you could stay home and raise a family, as so many other spouses did. Thinking back, you might agree with those who say they wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
Now, as you head to court for a late-life divorce, you might find yourself thinking about money issues a lot more than usual. If you opened your own bank account or took other steps during marriage to establish financial independence, you might find it easier to adapt to your post-divorce lifestyle. However, if you are a woman over the age of 55, you have a 27 percent chance of living at or below the nation’s poverty level after a divorce. To avoid serious financial crisis, you’ll want to build a strong support system.
Why it’s different for those who are older
If you had divorced in your twenties or thirties, your financial situation may not have been so complicated, mainly because you and your spouse probably didn’t have as much then as you do now. The longer a marriage lasts, the more assets spouses tend to acquire, making property division proceedings more challenging.
If you did not earn an income during most of your marriage, then you will probably be seeking employment as you lay the groundwork for your new lifestyle. You’ll also want to make sure you get the maximum to which you are entitled when the court divides marital property between you and your spouse.
How to make sure you don’t get the short end of the stick
A substantial economic disparity definitely exists between men and women who divorce later in life. Quite lower than the percentages mentioned for women earlier in this post, only 11 percent of men face dire financial circumstances after divorce. Any number of problems may arise to cause you financial concern, such as if you suspect your spouse is trying to hide assets to keep them from being subject to division.
Wisconsin spouses who want to stay on top of things and execute the best strategies to help them secure fair and agreeable outcomes in court often turn to experienced family law attorneys to help them determine the best course of action.
