A divorce often results in a host of financial challenges. This is especially true when it comes to gray divorces. If you are getting a divorce while over the age of 50 or after retirement, you may experience significant difficulties due to the need to live on a fixed income with very little opportunity for income growth. However, there are some things you can do to live comfortably enough after your divorce, despite major changes to your finances.

What Should I Do if My Divorce Settlement Is Not Enough?

In many cases, a divorce settlement might not be enough to allow you to meet your living expenses after the divorce, or the resulting financial issues may not allow you to truly enjoy your retirement. In times like these, you might want to consider the following ways to increase your income:

1. Increase your Social Security benefit—What you may not realize after divorce is that your Social Security benefits do not have to only be based on your own earnings record. If your ex-spouse has a much higher earnings record than you do, then you can increase your monthly Social Security benefits. As a divorcee, you can receive up to half of your ex-spouse’s monthly Social Security benefit. This means that even if you were a lifelong stay-at-home parent without a qualifying earnings record for Social Security benefits, you could still receive benefits based on your ex-spouse’s benefit. Even if you did have an earnings record, if half of your ex-spouse’s benefit amount is higher than your own benefit, Social Security will make up the difference and increase your total Social Security benefit.

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On Monday, March 16, 2020, the Dow Jones saw its worst point drop in history. The coronavirus continues to stir up a volatile market, causing gains from the last three years to disappear completely in a matter of weeks. Especially in cases of complex divorce, this could mean significant losses to you and your former spouse’s investment and retirement accounts, which are tied to these plummeting markets. To help alleviate losses, there are some strategies you should consider when drawing up your divorce decree and figuring out how to divvy up these accounts.

Planning Your Divorce Around a Volatile Stock Market

There is no way to predict the future, and there is certainly no way to know for sure what will happen in the stock market in the days, weeks, and years to come. While the common belief is that everything tends to stabilize over time, it is difficult to see this when faced with market nosedives like those taking place lately. Regardless, here are some tips to consider during divorce when deciding how you will safeguard your investments and retirement accounts against these market downturns:

• Understand Cost Basis of Stocks—The original purchase price of a stock—that is, the amount of money originally paid to attain the stock—is considered the “cost basis.” Overall, when divorce attorneys and judges help you and your former spouse determine what is “equitable” in Illinois in terms of dividing up the investment accounts, they are looking at the cost basis of each investment. Due to this, you will want to take a closer look at which investments your partner wants to take or which investments are being assigned to you. In some cases, you could face a huge tax bill due to appreciation, or you might receive some stocks that are nowhere near their “cost basis” value anymore.

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On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19, commonly referred to as the coronavirus, is enough of a global threat to humanity that it can now be classified as a “pandemic.” As more and more events with large gatherings are getting canceled or postponed, couples planning to tie the knot may be concerned. Here is why weddings are particularly susceptible to the coronavirus and what you might want to consider doing about it, including postponing it and choosing to work on your prenuptial agreement or cohabitation agreement instead.

Why Weddings Are Dangerous Due to the Coronavirus

Although most people have aimed their attention on the cancellation of major events and other public gatherings, including festivals like South by Southwest and Coachella, and sporting events like the NCAA March Madness Tournament, not enough focus has been placed on weddings. Weddings are particularly dangerous when it comes to the coronavirus because:

• Most weddings have large amounts of people crowded into relatively small places.

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It is difficult enough for your child to deal with his or her parents’ divorce, but adjusting to your new romantic partner can add additional stress. This can complicate things further and make the post-divorce transition more challenging for everyone involved. In these cases, it is a good idea to make plans for how you will help your children get acclimated to your new significant other. By keeping your children’s best interests in mind, you can help them accept your new partner and ensure that your family is prepared for success in the years to come.

Ways to Help Your Children Get Comfortable With Your New Partner

Your new partner will likely want to be a part of your kids’ lives and help you out with parenting duties where they can. You can help ease them into this new role in the following ways:

1. Choose the right place for introductions—For initial meetings between you, your children, and your new romantic partner, none of you should be given preference in terms of the environment. If your children will be visiting your partner’s house, they will likely be anxious, and they may not respond well to the introduction. If they are at your house, they might want to gravitate toward the comforts of home, ignoring your new partner. If you choose a neutral place, this could help cultivate togetherness and empathy, the kind that builds stronger relationships.

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For many years, people have insisted that there has been a definite trend in which the number of divorces has increased every year. However, the truth contradicts this belief, and that truth is far more complex than most people would imagine. Divorce is often not an easy decision or an easy process, and it takes time and careful deliberation to come to an understanding and acceptance of it. Because of this, it is not something that people take lightly.

Dispelling the Myth That Half of All Marriages End in Divorce

Before getting married, people are often warned that “half of all marriages end in divorce,” and this supposed statistic may be used to suggest that a person should think long and hard before taking the plunge. However, the actual statistics show an entirely different story. These days, the national divorce rate is not 50%; it is actually closer to 39  %. Overall, divorce rates have been steadily declining since the 1980s, which is when they peaked. In addition, the state of Illinois itself has a much lower divorce rate than the national average.

Why Are Divorce Rates Lower Than Expected?

There are many factors that contribute to a lower divorce rate. The most prevalent cause of this is generational. Millennials and some members of Generation Z, people currently in their 20s and 30s, are really discerning when it comes to finding a lifetime partner. Since they are being particularly selective in their choices of a romantic partner, these marriages are often less likely to end in divorce. Their likelihood of finding a partner who they probably will not divorce could be a result of the following: