The end of a marriage is a time of transition, one in which individuals have the chance to reshape the course of their lives. Part of that process involves making changes to their financial outlook, both in the months surrounding a Texas divorce and in the years to follow. Reevaluating financial goals is an important part of that process, and one that can shape priorities during and after the property division process.
One thing that will almost certainly change after a divorce involves retirement planning. Planning for retirement for one individual is a far different prospect than planning for two. For one thing, there are often fewer retirement assets to work with, as those assets are likely to be divided during the divorce. In addition, there may be differences in how each spouse envisioned their retirement years. Those differences can mean that an individual will have greater or lesser needs when it comes to monthly retirement income.
Once all of those changes have been addressed, each spouse must take the time to sit down and re-evaluate their retirement planning. This is a step that is best completed early in the divorce process, and long before intense property division negotiations are underway. Some spouses will determine that they need to bolster their retirement savings, which would lead to efforts to receive a greater share of those assets while ceding interest in other forms of wealth. Other spouses may find that they are in good shape in regard to retirement savings, which frees them to pursue other assets, such as the house or a vacation property.
As with all aspects of property division, the best way to make decisions regarding retirement assets is to become fully informed of both current and projected financial needs. Once that information is in hand, it can be far easier to formulate a negotiation strategy, and to ultimately reach a settlement that is in line with one’s needs. That, after all, is the ultimate goal of all Texas spouses who are going through a divorce.
Source: USA Today, “Divorce wiped me out financially. Here’s how I bounced back.“, Tamara Holmes, May 25, 2017
