Last week in this New Jersey Family Law Blog, we discussed how important it is to divide retirement assets fairly during divorce. A recent news report points out that baby boomers are continuing to divorce at very high rates and this trend is bound to affect the retirement lifestyles of a number of them.

According to USA Today, from 1990 to 2010 the number of divorce filings for those over 50 years old doubled. In 2010, 25 percent of U.S. divorces involved people over 50. Divorcing at that age can lead to serious financial problems in some cases.

When couples choose to divorce in their fifties or later, they likely have a pool of assets that was meant to fund their retirement together, and they have fewer working years ahead of them than those who divorce earlier in life. Funding two separate retirements with that one pool of assets is no easy task for many people.

The USA Today report suggests that retirement for two single people can cost as much as 30 percent more than retirement for one couple.

In order to split up the retirement assets in the most appropriate way, it is best to create a plan with one’s divorce attorney and possibly a financial planner. While the divorce attorney can help to negotiate a divorce settlement that will allow for retirement, a financial planner may suggest ways to rebuild savings and reduce spending to be better prepared for the retirement years.

Property and asset division are often the most contentious issues in divorce for those of any age. Baby boomers, and everyone else, should go into divorce proceedings with quality legal counsel to help ensure the division of assets does not unnecessarily hinder their financial health.

Source: USA Today, “Boomer divorce: A costly retirement roadblock,” Rodney Brooks, Feb. 26, 2013