If you’re going to be divorcing after at least several decades of marriage, you likely have more years of retirement – at least semi-retirement — ahead of you than continued years in the workplace. Your years of raising a family are probably behind you. That means your priorities will be very different than if you were divorcing at an earlier stage in life.
Property division will still be a crucial part of your divorce. Even though Texas is a community property state and most of your and your spouse’s assets were likely accumulated during the marriage, you still need to ensure a fair settlement.
Even if you work full-time, if your spouse significantly outearns you or there are things that prevent you affording the standard of living you’ve enjoyed for many years, you may be able to seek alimony (also known as spousal support or maintenance).
Here are just two of the important things that may not be part of your divorce agreement but which you should consider.
Health insurance
If you’ve been covered under your spouse’s plan for many years, it can be easy to forget about health insurance amid all of the other divorce considerations. However, that coverage typically ends when the divorce becomes final.
That means you need to have your own insurance in place by then. If you can’t get health insurance through your own employer, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you can get it through Healthcare.gov.
Social Security retirement benefits
If you’re getting close to retirement age (whether you retire or not), you should get an idea of what you’ll receive when the time comes. You can start taking benefits based on your earnings record once you’re 62. However, if you can wait until you get to full retirement age (around 67), you get more benefits.
Unless your spouse has earned far more than you over many years, you’ll likely want to take your own benefits rather than Social Security spousal benefits. (You can’t take both.) It’s a good idea, even if you’re not ready for benefits yet, to check your Social Security information on the SSA.gov site.
After many years of marriage, you and your spouse likely have the same financial and tax advisors. Now is the time to get your own. Just as you wouldn’t have the same legal team representing you in the divorce, you want other professionals whose only allegiance is to you and your future well-being.