Following a divorce, an individual may either embrace the freedom of singlehood or struggle to adjust to his or her new single lifestyle. In either situation, the person can benefit from becoming more proactive in his or her financial planning efforts than ever before in California. A recent article provides several tips for how people can secure their financial futures independently, even after they have gone through a divorce.
First, focusing on retirement is essential. During a divorce, the two parties are entitled to divide retirement assets; neglecting to pay attention to this type of asset can be costly in the long run. In addition, divorced individuals can create retirement plans for themselves, factoring in whether they plan to continue to work part-time during retirement and determining how much money they truly need during their golden years.
A divorced individual who may be struggling to juggle saving for retirement and saving for a child’s college will benefit from putting himself or herself first. It’s not wise to try to save for kids’ future education at the cost of one’s own future, experts say, as children can rely on student grants or loans as needed. Consulting a financial planner can also be especially helpful so that a person can learn how to develop emergency savings in the event that negative things happen, such as a job loss.
Going through a divorce means that a person must get used to being single, which includes making his or her own decisions about how finances are handled. It is critical that a divorced person secure his or her financial future as much as possible in California. Understanding divorce laws will enable an individual to seek his or her best interest in the areas of child support, alimony and property/asset division during a divorce proceeding, which will allow him or her to have the most desirable financial outcome long-term.
Source: abcnews.com, Top 9 Financial Planning Tips for Single Parents, Jennifer Lawler, Nov. 16, 2013