Perhaps for the past few decades, you’ve been fully dedicated to and focused on your marriage and family life. Whether you’ve balanced a career outside the home in the process or have been a full-time stay-at-home parent raising children, you’ve likely enjoyed many happy experiences as well as overcome problems through the years. If you’re one of many California residents who’ve chosen to divorce after age 50, you may be facing some of your toughest challenges to date.
Divorce is seldom easy at any age; however, beyond age 50, it can be extremely complicated since spouses typically have more assets and shared interests than in their earlier years together. Known as gray divorce, marital splits after 50 tend to raise a few unique concerns.
How does gray divorce affect finances and adult children?
Most parents who divorce when their children are young expect to navigate a few tumultuous times as their kids come to terms with their new lifestyles. However, many parents who divorce later in life overlook the fact that divorce still affects children even when those children are adults. Keeping the following in mind may help prepare you for various child-related matters, as well as other issues having to do with finances in gray divorce:
- An important aspect of helping children (regardless their ages) adapt to life after their parents’ divorces is maintaining an active and close relationship with them and letting them know they can turn to you for support as they try their best to address their fluctuating emotions. When children are past the age of 18 and their parents divorce, it is often difficult to come to terms with the reality of the situation. Parents who are able to amicably communicate, cooperate and compromise when necessary are great assets to their children during such times.
- Things like retirement funds, savings accounts, taxes, business investments and marital property require attention before the court can make a final decision as to how marital assets get divided between the two of you. California happens to be one of only nine community property states, meaning that the law views ownership of all marital property as 50/50 in divorce. Many contentious debates arise regarding whether particular assets are considered jointly owned, separate property, etc., which can complicate the divorce after 50 process.
- There are generally several options available regarding the process of divorce, including whether you and your spouse will enlist mediation help or enter litigation in a civil court. It’s typically best to research each option available so you can make as informed of decisions as possible when choosing the option that best suits your particular situation.
The number of gray divorces in this state and throughout the nation has increased in recent years. Divorce at any stage of marriage bears substantial impact on the lives of those involved. When you choose to divorce later in life, you may need an extra dose of support to help keep stress levels low and move forward toward a happy and successful future.
An experienced family law attorney is a great resource for people facing such circumstances. Clear understanding of state law and insight into how late life divorce tends to affect people are two key attributes that allow an attorney to help a client mitigate any potential negative repercussions that might occur in divorce after 50.
