Lili is speaking at National Conference Event in Chicago
Retirement Income Summit: April 20-21, 2020 | Westin Chicago River North
Join us in Chicago for the industry’s premier retirement planning conference.
Yes, Divorces Can Cost a Lot, But There Are Ways to Save
We don’t have to tell you that divorce can be a painful, emotional process, exacerbated by drawn out, expensive legal proceedings. You’ve seen Marriage Story. There’s a reason why Laura Dern’s character (she played a divorce attorney) was so well-heeled. And yes, even in the best case scenarios, if both parties agree to all the terms, divorce can still take a toll on your savings. How much it costs to get a divorce varies pretty wildly due to individual circumstances like the state you live in, if you’re splitting up amicably, or working through a toxic relationship, and whether there are kids involved. Still, it can be helpful to know general price ranges and the major factors that affect the cost of divorce if you’ve found yourself in need of one.
How happy couples handle money
Divorce isn’t the happiest way to start the new year, but January is a common time for couples to split: It’s unofficially been dubbed “Divorce Month” in the legal community because of an uptick in divorce filings following the holidays, according to a 2016 study from the University of Washington.
Would you get divorced to save money?
There are plenty of reasons couples get divorced (these money mistakes are a common cause). But what if you could get divorced to save money? by Hanna Horvath Nov. 26, 2019
Divorce Rates: Lower overall, higher for older couples
Sept. 7, 2019
Unbelievable! Divorce rates are down 40% from 1992 when there were 4.8 divorces for every 1,000 Americans. By 2017, that rate was only 2.9. However, divorce rates for older Americans have skyrocketed.
Divorce: How to stay financially secure when you’re splitting up
Getting divorced is an emotional roller-coaster. It also can be a real threat to your personal finances.
If you don’t approach your settlement with a clear head and an accurate accounting of your finances, you may find that you can’t afford your new life alone or, just as bad, you could jeopardize the retirement you’re envisioning for yourself in the future.
For those splitting up in their later years or for spouses who worked at home for most of their lives, the financial ramifications can be even worse.
Divorce by the decade seems like an odd way to call the shots to identify the risks for a marriage. For years, it seemed like the longer you were married or the longer you waited to get married, the better. Most people believe that the relationship between age at marriage and divorce risk was almost linear: the older you were, the lower the chances of divorce. Curiously, not only are these basic assumptions mistaken, but also the premise that all divorces face mostly the same financial issues. Granted there are three financial topics potentially relevant to every divorce: support, custody, and property division. The factors of each vary considerably by your age and should influence what’s most important to you.
Protecting Yourself Financially during Divorce
I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING AS a financial advisor in divorce for more than 25 years, and in the last 10 years the divorce rate in the U.S. for adults over the age of 50 has doubled.
Remarried after kids – avoid accidentally disinheriting them
If you’ve tied the knot again and hope to pass on assets to your kids from a previous marriage, don’t overlook the importance of planning for when you pass away.
Many people lack even a basic will and the stakes can be higher if you do no estate planning when you remarry. As a result, your children could unintentionally be disinherited.
“A conversation about estate planning is absolutely critical in remarriages,” said certified financial planner Lili Vasileff, founder and president of Divorce and Money Matters in Greenwich, Connecticut.“It’s emotional and hard to talk about, but the last thing you want to do is leave adult kids with a disaster.”
Widows see their income drop by 50% – don’t be one of them
In March 2013, Ginny McKinney and her husband, Dan, were shopping for a camper to pursue their dream of traveling to great golf courses around the country. Then Dan died of a heart attack. He was 62 years old and she was 59.
“It was devastating. Grief is like an onion. You have the initial shock of the loss itself, but then it keeps going deeper and deeper,” Ginny says.
And in Ginny’s case, the emotional challenges were compounded by financial setbacks.
