Few issues are sure to complicate your divorce like money and children. Issues like having a large investment portfolio, or young children who require custody arrangements, or immense wealth without a prenuptial agreement, are sure to land you on the opposite side of an office table in negotiations with your estranged spouse. As you get older, it’s normal to amass investments and assets you plan to use for retirement, and if you’re married, you like to have twice the number of investments, assets, and pension accounts. When retirees seek divorces, they are often surprised by the level of complication and complexity involved in finalizing their divorce settlement.
If you are nearing retirement and you’re in the process of seeking a divorce from your spouse, who you’ve been married to for a decade or longer, there are several unique issues you should watch for during the process.
- Alimony Calculations and Terms: The formula used to set alimony payments for a long-term marriage should consider a payee spouse’s total compensation package, not just their base salary.
To create a more accurate compensation picture, include all forms of payment like:
- Bonuses
- Stocks Options
- Company Ownership Percentages
- Executive Compensation Packages
- Car Allowance
- Travel Perks
- Accurate and Thorough Asset Valuations and Property Division: You need to ensure every asset undergoes a complete and accurate assessment. You should include both premarital and marital assets and liabilities. When you have been married for many years without a prenuptial agreement, it will be challenging to differentiate “separate property” and marital property. To err on the side of caution, get a valuation for everything.
- Inheritances: As mentioned above, some assets are separate property – inheritances fall into this category. There are instances where this money or property can be comingled and present problems for your divorce settlement if both sides do not agree about the asset.
- Retirement Accounts, Social Security, and Pensions: When you’ve been married for many years, and you decide to divorce, you could be entitled to a portion of your spouse’s retirement savings. These calculations can be difficult to determine, and receiving payment is often a challenge as well. It’s best to begin working on this with your divorce team sooner rather than later to confirm you are eligible for these funds before finalizing the divorce settlement. Once the settlement is signed and filed, you cannot revisit the matter if it turns out you don’t qualify for the monthly payments you expected.
- Life Insurance: When the court orders the payment of alimony to an economically disadvantaged spouse, the payee spouse may be required to maintain a term life insurance policy that will pay the remainder of the alimony order or a preapproved amount.
Thoughtful and Considerate Divorce Lawyers
If you are ready to file for divorce, the attorneys at Patton and Pittman can help you create a strategy to begin processing your case and filing the necessary paperwork. Our Tennessee divorce lawyer can help alleviate your concerns by answering any questions you may have about your situation. Call us today at (931) 361-4477 to schedule a consultation, or you can use our online contact form to request more information.