Every Virginia divorce will have its challenges. Divorce can be complicated for older residents – specifically regarding finances.
What makes gray divorces different?
Gray divorce is the term used to refer to Virginia couples over the age of 50 that want to end their marriage. After so many years of marriage, finances become heavily intertwined. Things like retirement accounts and social security also become much more critical.
Handling health costs
Healthcare can be costly; unfortunately, older Virginia residents are more likely to have health issues. Oftentimes divorce can change your health insurance coverage, and it might be harder to pay for healthcare as a single person.
Being a single older person makes it more likely you’ll have to rely on home healthcare or a nursing home when you get older. When the time comes, divorced elders might have difficulty paying for this.
Retirement accounts
It’s a reasonable expectation also that homemakers should be able to live off of their spouse’s retirement accounts when the time comes. This all goes up in the air, though, when couples go through a divorce.
Someone who’s worked as a homemaker their whole life won’t have the same job experience as their spouse. That’s without taking health issues or age into account.
Planning for the rest of your life with the explicit knowledge that you may not have the same health and resources is the greatest financial worry for people going through a gray divorce. Leaning on external support systems – like family or friends – can help ease some of the burdens, but it’s still important to ensure you can provide for yourself after a gray divorce.