Part of making a clean break with a spouse in a divorce may involve working with different financial professionals. This could be particularly daunting for the person who was the dependent spouse, but these professionals should help the person prepare for life after divorce. An attorney might be one source of recommendations.
Getting new financial professionals during divorce
Dividing assets in divorce, including the family home
The family home can be one of the more challenging items to handle as part of a divorce settlement in Florida. Unlike traditional financial assets like a retirement fund or bank account, it cannot be easily divided into two parts. Furthermore, people may have strong sentimental ties to the home even as it represents one of the largest single assets belonging to the divorcing couple.
Keeping the family home following a divorce
For Florida former couples going through a divorce, determining whether to keep or sell the family home may be one of the biggest decisions they will have to make. Before making their decision, however, there are several issues that they will need to consider.
How a child can adjust to divorce
Parents in Florida who are separating can help their children build resilience that will make the adjustment less difficult. First, they should work to keep things consistent for the kids. This means maintaining a routine as much as possible so that there can be some stability for the overall larger adjustment of the divorce. Parents should try to agree on some basic, consistent rules between households, but even if they are unable to do so, they should not criticize the other parent's decisions in front of the child.
Divorce is a bit more complicated for seniors
The economic and emotional challenges that follow most Florida divorces can be even more difficult for older couples. For starters, seniors have fewer potential working years left. Additionally, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation that was signed into law in December 2017 has provisions beginning in 2019 that will impact many future divorces.
How divorce can be contagious
The various factors that come together to influence whether a Florida couple decides to divorce or stay together may seem primarily internal. It shouldn't matter what other couples are doing in their marriages. However, perhaps surprisingly, recent findings suggest otherwise.
Tax reform law could affect divorce negotiations
When Florida couples are considering a divorce, they may not realize that federal tax law changes could also impact the end of their marriage. At the end of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed, best-known for its provisions on corporate and individual tax rates. However, there are also several provisions of the law that will affect how people deal with taxes during and after a divorce, especially after clauses related to alimony and spousal support go into effect at the beginning of 2019.
Some jobs might make divorce more likely
For Florida couples, the likelihood of divorce may be dependent, to an extent, on where they work. Research indicates that people who work with many others of the opposite sex might be more likely to divorce. A 2015 study published in the Royal Society Open Science journal found that men who lived in communities that were dominated by women were more likely to have shorter relationships.
Maintaining good health after a divorce for older adults
Some people in Florida may have heard the term "grey divorce" to refer to the growing phenomenon of people 50 and older ending their relationships. Researchers say that people are living longer and placing higher expectations on their marriage. With women no longer as economically dependent on their husbands as in the past, more older people may be seeking a divorce, but there can be drawbacks.
Pitfalls for older adults to avoid when divorcing
Divorce for couples in Florida and throughout the country who are 50 and older is a growing reality. The divorce rate in this age group is twice as high as it was in 1990, and it is three times as high for people who are older than 64. While experts have theorized that retiring from fulfilling work or the empty nest syndrome could be to blame, studies show that simply being dissatisfied with the marriage is the main reason for these late-life divorces.
