Getting divorced means your plans for the future may have to change significantly. Where you live, how you make ends meet and how much of the time your kids live with you could all be very different than before.
The same is true for your retirement. You and your spouse once made plans to retire as a couple. Now, you could have to save for retirement by yourself. Depending on what your income and earning power was before your divorce, this could be a real challenge. But a comfortable retirement after divorce is still possible — if you start with a division of assets that puts you in a good financial position.
Room for creativity
Like most states, Kentucky follows the equitable division model for divorce asset division. All marital property — generally, assets you and your spouse acquired during your marriage — must be divided equitably, a legal term meaning fairly. Because the law does not require an exact 50-50 split of each marital asset, you and your spouse have quite a bit of room to get creative with property division.
Depending on your age, income, education and potential earning power, you might wish to seek more (or less) of the 401(k) and other retirement investments. For example, you could agree to the larger share of retirement funds and your spouse’s Social Security benefits in exchange for getting dropped from your spouse’s health insurance plan or a lower portion of the proceeds from selling the house. Or if retirement is still decades away, getting the house or other assets could be a larger priority.
Do you know what you own?
In many married couples, one spouse earns most (or all) of the income and handles all the household finances. If you were in one of those marriages and did not know much about the retirement savings and other investments, you need as much information as you can get. Your divorce attorney can help arrange for experts to investigate your assets so that you know what you own and how much it is worth.
Your property division settlement should be tailored to fit your needs as much as possible. A thoughtfully planned and negotiated settlement can benefit you both short- and long-term.