...

Have Wealth? Over 50 years old? Read this before your divorce begins

We began to discuss the topic of over-50 divorces in yesterday’s
blog post from the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. As I will often do when we have multi-day topics such as this one, I
recommend that you go back and read what we had to say yesterday to give
yourself a better idea about what factors are often in place when spouses
in their fifties, sixties and beyond enter into divorce proceedings. Often
times issues that you never would have anticipated being relevant rear
their heads in cases like these.

In today’s blog post we will put a bow on this topic by delving into
some final thoughts on relevant issues related to over-50 divorces. If
you are just now learning about divorce and are confused or need clarification
on anything we have discussed please do not hesitate to reach out to the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today. We offer free of charge, no strings attached
consultations with our licensed family law attorneys six days a week.
You can come in, ask your questions and go about your merry way if you
would like.

What to do with your family home

I sadly hear clients all the time talk about what was once thought of as
their “Forever Home” now needing to be put up for sale due
to circumstances related to divorce. While most people will never own
a Forever Home due to the nature of how frequently we move nowadays, the
concept extends to the sentimental and emotional value of living in one
residence for an extended period of time. If you are a person in your
sixties who is now considering divorce you could have raised your children
and even your grandchildren in your marital home. Now having to come face
to face with the prospect of selling that home can be pretty overwhelming.

Fortunately there are ways for you to prepare for having to go through
something like this. Reading and learning as much as you can is a good
place to start. For instance, given that Texas is a community property
state, your home may represent a sizeable chunk of your and your spouse’s
combined net worth. What will you and your spouse decide to do with your
home? Selling it during your marriage may allow you to escape from the
tax consequences on the profit/capital gain that is earned. If the home
is awarded to you or your spouse and is later sold, your tax liability
would be on any profit made on the sale over and above $250,000.

As any family law attorney worth their salt will tell you, it is important
to consider the prospect of selling your house as a both an emotional
and financial decision. It is undeniable that you and your spouse have
built in a great deal of memories into your home. This is a virtually
inescapable fact. However, you cannot place the importance of these memories
in front of what is best for you and your family. You can purchase a new
house and make new memories in the future. You cannot undue a mistake
made in your divorce due to sentimentality.

Handling retirement savings as a part of your divorce

One of the most important wealth building tools that is at the disposal
of most any American is that of
retirement savings vehicles like workplace 401(k) plans, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA)
as well as general mutual funds, index funds and simple savings accounts.
Many of these options allow people to save for retirement, sometimes on
a tax free basis. We’ve all played with the online compound interest
calculators, I’m sure, and have seen just how much a little bit
of money saved now can grow in ten, twenty or thirty years.

All it really takes is some discipline. If you can save now, you can prosper
later. You and your spouse likely have some money tucked away in these
type of accounts and are either taking advantage of them now, or are planning
on doing so as soon as you retire. What happens if an unexpected divorce
crosses your path? Are you able to move forward and know how to handle
your retirement savings?

A big concept to be aware of when it comes to dividing retirement benefits
in a gray divorce is that sometimes you are not able to change the beneficiary
on certain accounts due to their already beginning to pay out benefits.
If this is the case you will need to be able to either compensate your
spouse an equivalent value of what his or her share is, or work out a
way to be compensated if you are the spouse of the employee receiving
the benefit.

Social Security and gray divorce

The ability to receive a portion of your spouse’s social security
benefits depends in large part on when your final decree of divorce will
be entered. This is due to the fact that you and your spouse must have
been married for at least ten years before your divorce is finalized in
order so that one spouse can receive benefits under the other’s
work history. If you are the spouse who will want to claim benefits under
your ex-spouse’s name you and your attorney need to carefully consider
the timing of everything so that you are not unable to claim benefits
in this way.

Spousal Maintenance

The following situation is fairly common in the modern
gray divorce. Let’s suppose that you are a woman in your early sixties who has
decided that now is the right time to get a divorce. You have not worked
outside the home since before your kids were born. However, when you did
work you did so to help put your husband through law school.

Flash forward some thirty-odd years and your spouse is a successful attorney
and has been for sometime. You and he have built up some substantial wealth
and now you are interested in knowing just what interest you have in the
resources that have been accumulated. Also- what about you going back
to work? While your estate may be substantial it may not be enough to
sustain you? What can be done?

Well, remember that as Texas is a
community property state, any and all income earned during the course of your marriage (as
well as property) is considered to be jointly owned. This means that even
if you never earned a dollar during your marriage that a just and right
division of the money and property in your life will be made available to you.

Secondly, given the length of you marriage you are able to take advantage
of the laws in Texas that regard spousal maintenance. Maintenance is more
widely known as alimony in many states. It allows you to receive a certain
amount of money each month for a certain period of time after your divorce,
as paid by your ex-spouse to you. This will allow you to meet whatever
minimal basic needs you have while you get your feet under you after a divorce.

The bottom line here is that you have rights if you are the spouse who
has been married to a high income earner during the course of your marriage.
However, the court will not assert those rights for you. You need to hire
an attorney with experience in handling high income, gray divorces in
order to ensure that your rights are protected properly.

Questions on gray divorce? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

To learn more about gray divorce please
contact the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. Our attorneys have handled many, many gray divorces and that is to your
advantage. Allow our attorneys to utilize that expertise in order to benefit
you and your family during this difficult time. We pride ourselves on
representing our clients to the fullest of our abilities and your case
would be no exception.

To schedule a free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family
law attorneys simply give us a call. We offer consultations six days a
week here in our office where we can address any questions or concerns
that you may have.

Categories: Uncategorized

Share this article

Category

Categories

Contact Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC Today!

At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, the firm wants to get to know your case before they commit to work with you. They offer all potential clients a no-obligation, free consultation where you can discuss your case under the client-attorney privilege. This means that everything you say will be kept private and the firm will respectfully advise you at no charge. You can learn more about Texas divorce law and get a good idea of how you want to proceed with your case.

Office Hours

Mon-Fri: 8 AM – 6 PM Saturday: By Appointment Only

"(Required)" indicates required fields