Effects of Divorce on Her
Although the total US divorce rate has decreased over the past 20 years, “grey divorces” have slowly increased. Grey divorces refer to the increase in divorces for older couples who have been married for a long time. While both men and women have their unique experiences during divorce, women can be impacted by grey divorces in significant ways.
Our Putnam County divorce lawyers discuss five reasons why grey divorces can impact women in ways that men may not experience:
- Transitioning: Women may pay college expenses and/or assist in supporting adult children while they relocate and begin working in their chosen profession after divorce. With increasing living costs and college expenses, these factors can put a particular strain on women’s financial circumstances as they simultaneously adjust from a double-income household to a single-income household.
- Assets: Studies have shown that the median balance of retirement assets for "baby boomer" men was substantially higher than that of "baby boomer" women. In fact, men had more than double the retirement assets of women statistically. In many cases, women opt to "buy out" their husband's interest in the marital residence in exchange for their fair share of the retirement assets, which can make the situation worse. As a result, women may be left with increased monthly expenses and little or no retirement parachute.
- Financial management: If a woman was not the primary wage earner and did not manage the finances during the marriage, she could find herself paying bills and handling all her finances, managing stock portfolios, retirement assets, investment properties and navigating complex tax issues for the first time in decades, if ever.
- Jobs: Getting back into the workforce later in life can be challenging. Now more than ever, society is seeing jobs being phased out, technology evolving and professions advancing. These changes can require a significant amount of time and money investments in supplemental degrees, re-certifications, continuing education training, etc. to re-enter the workforce.
- Social Security: Applying for and receiving social security benefits can be complex and is contingent upon several different factors. The job and professional industry a woman and her soon-to-be ex-spouse were involved in during the marriage, the number of years in the workforce, the marriage length, etc. can determine whether or not she is entitled to social security benefits and how much.
Seek Guidance from Proven Putnam County Divorce Attorneys
Over the years, the generational and cultural ideologies for both married and single women have broadened to include more freedoms and opportunities. The downside to this is that “boomer” women must often play catch-up when learning how to adjust to and manage their post-divorce lives. Regardless of age and gender, the bottom line is that filing for divorce is never easy. Women, however, may experience the effects of grey divorces differently due to several reasons such as the five listed above.
If you are seeking a divorce in Putnam County, it’s important to entrust your needs with a compassionate team of family lawyers who can prepare you for what to expect before, during and after your divorce. At the Law Office of Dennis R. Vetrano, Jr., LLC, we work to protect the best interests of our clients as they navigate their sensitive situations and can do the same for you. To get started, contact us at (845) 605-4330!
We handle cases throughout Putnam, Westchester, Orange and Dutchess Counties.