Life, post-divorce, is often a daydream or fantasy of those thinking about or going through divorce. Unfortunately, those dreams may not always be a reality, so it is important to think about and plan for our pos-divorce lifestyle now, before a divorce is finalized.
Retirement
Retirement accounts will generally be split. This means that, if one is close to retirement, they will have a much smaller retirement account, especially for single-income households. If one is earlier in life, this may not make much of a difference, but for older Americans, this can have a huge affect on our post-divorce life.
Do not try to keep up with the Joneses
For most, if not all, married couples, our friends are other married couples. Post-divorce, we will no longer have a family income. Instead, we are now a single-income household. This means our lifestyles will naturally change. And, while we may want to keep up appearances with our married friend, divorcees must stop keeping up with the Joneses. In other words, the life one lives as a couple will be dramatically different than before, and that is okay.
Budget, budget, budget
Before a West Long Branch, New Jersey, divorce, is finalized both spouses should explore their post-divorce budget, including both income and expenses. Figure out where one will be at the end of the divorce process, but just as important, figure out where one wants to be post-divorce. Once one knows where they are at and where they want to go, they can begin to figure out what their life will look like, post-divorce.
Seek help
This will be an emotionally trying time for our Monmouth County readers, and it is, sometimes, hard to think analytically about finances now, or even post-divorce. This is why it is so important to seek out independent, third-party counsel to figure out not just the divorce process, but also life after the divorce.