Summary
Of all life events, divorce may have the greatest potential to change your financial status (usually for the worse).
Financial planners will tell you that it’s best to make major money decisions when you’re cool and collected—and when you have plenty of time to gather all the data you need about your current assets and future needs. But that’s not how life works in a typical divorce.
The breakup of marriage is an emotional event, often laced with hostility and suspicion. Without the time or inclination for calm reflection, both spouses need to make decisions that can have a huge impact on their lives.
Of all life events, divorce may have the greatest potential to change your financial status (usually for the worse). How property is divided and who gets what post-divorce income depends in part on the laws of each state. But financial planners also have advice that makes sense no matter where you live.
Here are some key points to remember and pitfalls to avoid:
Know your needs
Know what you’ll need (and assume you’ll have less than before). Divorce is expensive, and not just because of lawyers’ fees. When a marriage breaks up, a husband and wife have to pay for two households instead of one. They pay more for housing and utilities, and child care costs can soar if the couple has joint custody and the kids are constantly traveling back and forth between them.
Consider analyzing your cash flow—using a computer program such as Quicken if you have one—to get a clear idea of how much you spend, and on what.
Don’t overlook assets
Track down all of the marital property. This can include far more than the obvious things like a home, jointly-held bank accounts, stocks, and mutual funds. Pensions and tax-deferred employee plans such as 401(k)s are also part of the mix to the extent that they were earned by either spouse during the marriage. So are stock options, deferred compensation, and employee stock option plans (ESOPs). Don't overlook pensions or 401(k)s from previous jobs.
A too-costly 401(k)?
Know what the property is worth after taxes. A tax-deferred plan such as a 401(k) will be worth much less than its face value when you actually get around to spending it—and paying income taxes on it. Divorcing spouses sometimes give away too much in order to hang on to 401(k) money or future pension rights.
What are those pensions really worth?
It’s also crucial to pin down the present value of future pension payments that you and your spouse have earned. This job requires the skills of an actuary, though larger employers may do it for you. Be sure you know the formulas of all the plans: This is one reason why you should never throw away the plan summaries an employer gives you.
What to do next will depend on your situation. After a brief marriage, and if only one spouse has a pension, it usually makes sense for the spouse with the pension to keep it and give the other spouse some other asset in return. After a long marriage, staking a claim on the main wage-earner’s future pension payments may be the better idea for a spouse who has spent a lot of time out of the workforce.
This would be done through a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). Employers often have prototype QDROs that can be used as a template for dividing up pensions and other benefits. But you and your attorney need to make sure it doesn’t leave anything out.
Lawyers aren’t therapists
Remember that anger only makes the lawyers rich. The toughest advice may be to keep your anger and other emotions in check in order to see your own interests clearly and not pick long and costly fights over small issues. Avoid using the legal and financial process to deal with your emotions.
Summary
Of all life events, divorce may have the greatest potential to change your financial status (usually for the worse).
Financial planners will tell you that it’s best to make major money decisions when you’re cool and collected—and when you have plenty of time to gather all the data you need about your current assets and future needs. But that’s not how life works in a typical divorce.
The breakup of marriage is an emotional event, often laced with hostility and suspicion. Without the time or inclination for calm reflection, both spouses need to make decisions that can have a huge impact on their lives.
Of all life events, divorce may have the greatest potential to change your financial status (usually for the worse). How property is divided and who gets what post-divorce income depends in part on the laws of each state. But financial planners also have advice that makes sense no matter where you live.
Here are some key points to remember and pitfalls to avoid:
Know your needs
Know what you’ll need (and assume you’ll have less than before). Divorce is expensive, and not just because of lawyers’ fees. When a marriage breaks up, a husband and wife have to pay for two households instead of one. They pay more for housing and utilities, and child care costs can soar if the couple has joint custody and the kids are constantly traveling back and forth between them.
Consider analyzing your cash flow—using a computer program such as Quicken if you have one—to get a clear idea of how much you spend, and on what.
Don’t overlook assets
Track down all of the marital property. This can include far more than the obvious things like a home, jointly-held bank accounts, stocks, and mutual funds. Pensions and tax-deferred employee plans such as 401(k)s are also part of the mix to the extent that they were earned by either spouse during the marriage. So are stock options, deferred compensation, and employee stock option plans (ESOPs). Don't overlook pensions or 401(k)s from previous jobs.
A too-costly 401(k)?
Know what the property is worth after taxes. A tax-deferred plan such as a 401(k) will be worth much less than its face value when you actually get around to spending it—and paying income taxes on it. Divorcing spouses sometimes give away too much in order to hang on to 401(k) money or future pension rights.
What are those pensions really worth?
It’s also crucial to pin down the present value of future pension payments that you and your spouse have earned. This job requires the skills of an actuary, though larger employers may do it for you. Be sure you know the formulas of all the plans: This is one reason why you should never throw away the plan summaries an employer gives you.
What to do next will depend on your situation. After a brief marriage, and if only one spouse has a pension, it usually makes sense for the spouse with the pension to keep it and give the other spouse some other asset in return. After a long marriage, staking a claim on the main wage-earner’s future pension payments may be the better idea for a spouse who has spent a lot of time out of the workforce.
This would be done through a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). Employers often have prototype QDROs that can be used as a template for dividing up pensions and other benefits. But you and your attorney need to make sure it doesn’t leave anything out.
Lawyers aren’t therapists
Remember that anger only makes the lawyers rich. The toughest advice may be to keep your anger and other emotions in check in order to see your own interests clearly and not pick long and costly fights over small issues. Avoid using the legal and financial process to deal with your emotions.
Summary
Of all life events, divorce may have the greatest potential to change your financial status (usually for the worse).
Financial planners will tell you that it’s best to make major money decisions when you’re cool and collected—and when you have plenty of time to gather all the data you need about your current assets and future needs. But that’s not how life works in a typical divorce.
The breakup of marriage is an emotional event, often laced with hostility and suspicion. Without the time or inclination for calm reflection, both spouses need to make decisions that can have a huge impact on their lives.
Of all life events, divorce may have the greatest potential to change your financial status (usually for the worse). How property is divided and who gets what post-divorce income depends in part on the laws of each state. But financial planners also have advice that makes sense no matter where you live.
Here are some key points to remember and pitfalls to avoid:
Know your needs
Know what you’ll need (and assume you’ll have less than before). Divorce is expensive, and not just because of lawyers’ fees. When a marriage breaks up, a husband and wife have to pay for two households instead of one. They pay more for housing and utilities, and child care costs can soar if the couple has joint custody and the kids are constantly traveling back and forth between them.
Consider analyzing your cash flow—using a computer program such as Quicken if you have one—to get a clear idea of how much you spend, and on what.
Don’t overlook assets
Track down all of the marital property. This can include far more than the obvious things like a home, jointly-held bank accounts, stocks, and mutual funds. Pensions and tax-deferred employee plans such as 401(k)s are also part of the mix to the extent that they were earned by either spouse during the marriage. So are stock options, deferred compensation, and employee stock option plans (ESOPs). Don't overlook pensions or 401(k)s from previous jobs.
A too-costly 401(k)?
Know what the property is worth after taxes. A tax-deferred plan such as a 401(k) will be worth much less than its face value when you actually get around to spending it—and paying income taxes on it. Divorcing spouses sometimes give away too much in order to hang on to 401(k) money or future pension rights.
What are those pensions really worth?
It’s also crucial to pin down the present value of future pension payments that you and your spouse have earned. This job requires the skills of an actuary, though larger employers may do it for you. Be sure you know the formulas of all the plans: This is one reason why you should never throw away the plan summaries an employer gives you.
What to do next will depend on your situation. After a brief marriage, and if only one spouse has a pension, it usually makes sense for the spouse with the pension to keep it and give the other spouse some other asset in return. After a long marriage, staking a claim on the main wage-earner’s future pension payments may be the better idea for a spouse who has spent a lot of time out of the workforce.
This would be done through a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). Employers often have prototype QDROs that can be used as a template for dividing up pensions and other benefits. But you and your attorney need to make sure it doesn’t leave anything out.
Lawyers aren’t therapists
Remember that anger only makes the lawyers rich. The toughest advice may be to keep your anger and other emotions in check in order to see your own interests clearly and not pick long and costly fights over small issues. Avoid using the legal and financial process to deal with your emotions.