Couples in California go through divorces at different stages of their lives. The issues that they will need to resolve during the divorce depends on stage of life they are in when they divorce. Younger couples may have less assets and the focus will be on the custody of the children and parenting time. Older couples going through what is commonly referred to as a gray divorce may only have adult children and the focus will be on the property division.
Couples who divorce later in life generally acquire more property and their financial accounts may have more money in them. Their assets also may be more complex in nature. People going through gray divorces also have to take into account that they may not have many more years of working before they would like to retire. They need to keep this in mind as they go through property division through the divorce.
Complexities of property division during gray divorces
The home owned by the parties may have significant equity if they owned it for many years. This means that buying the other spouse out may be more difficult and selling the home may have tax consequences if the gains are too high.
Retirement accounts will need to be split. Some couples may have planned for retirement as a couple and therefore contributed with that in mind. The planning may have also for the needs of a shared household. These accounts will need to be divided to support two households and the total funds available to each spouse could be diminished relative to their needs.
One spouse many also need to pay the other spousal support or alimony. Depending on the length of the marriage and which spouse earned the income, this award could be a permanent award that each spouse will need to consider when planning for their financial future.
Gray divorces are becoming more common in California. As people go through these divorces they need to consider the financial changes to their future lives. Experienced attorneys understand the concerns of people going through gray divorces and may be able to guide people through it.