Most people who live in Hawaii know that getting divorced can be a challenging life event and can leave them in a very different financial position than when they were married. It is more expensive to live alone than with someone else. It is also common for people to have to give up part of their marital assets either in the form of retirement accounts, savings, home equity and more. These realities make it important to plan for a financial future when making choices during a divorce negotiation.
As explained by Bloomberg, when a person over the age of 50 gets divorced, they may be at a significantly greater risk of experiencing serious financial hardships down the road. According to some recent research, this is especially true for women who experience a gray divorce, the term used for a divorce after 50.
It is estimated that the standard of living for a woman over 50 who gets divorced to drop by 45% in comparison to a corresponding drop of 21% for a man who gets divorced after the age of 50. Poverty is also more likely to become a reality for women who have gone through a gray divorce. Those over 63 who got divorced after 50 had nearly a 27% poverty rate compared with just over 11% for men who got divorced after 50.
If you would like to learn more about how you may be able to evaluate your decisions and options during a divorce so you can protect your financial future, please feel free to visit the property division and marital dissolution page of our Hawaii family law and divorce website.
