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Continued From Page 10
says. “Things that are not even
real money yet, but could be
potential income in the future,
come into play. There could be a
lot more to divide up and to agree
upon who’s going to have what.”
One fact often overlooked by
elderly couples, she says, is that
they’ll also have less income after
a breakup, as they’ll have to foot
expenses for separate accommo-
dations. “When you divorce you
have half the assets and if you’re
trying to live the same lifestyle it’s
quite difficult.”
Marta Stiteler, a certified
financial planner with Pillar
Retirement Group in Hamilton,
says divorce can be a “financial
tsunami” for older people.
Instead of one residence to pay
for, the husband and wife will
have to shell out money for sep-
arate accommodations, says
Stiteler, adding that, if they’re on
a fixed income, it could pose a
real problem.
“The problem with seniors,
particularly if they’re retired, is
that there’s really no way to recoup
the expense there or to create
more wealth to fill that vacuum
because they’re on a fixed income.
Unless you’re an incredibly
wealthy couple, it’s going to be a
financial loss.”
Often, she says, the elderly are
forced to give up prized posses-
sions after a divorce because they
can’t afford to keep them. The
cottage or even the family home
may have to be put up for sale.
“When you divorce, you might
be divorcing the family cottage
too. If you can’t eat or pay your
bills because you have a house
that’s too expensive for you to
keep it up, it’s time for you to
think about selling the house.”
According to Stiteler, divorce
at a later age is especially tough
on women, as many of those now
in their 60s or 70s may have
raised a family and let the hus-
band take care of all the finances.
The other problem, she says, is
that the women might not have
dealt with the finances and, after
a separation, are suddenly thrust
into a brand new world of finances
and technology.
“The longer a woman’s been
ingrained not working, or not
dealing with the finances, the
tougher it is to get back to it.”
Even technological changes,
such as using a bank card or sign-
ing cheques, can be terrifying for
an elderly woman who’s divorced,
Russell says.“It’s just a very scary
process to get back to that.”
When you divorce you
have half the assets
and if you’re trying to
live the same lifestyle
it’s quite difficult.
“
Tina Di Vito,
BMO Retirement Institute
Her advice to women is to get
involved in the family finances and
have a credit card and bank
account so if something does happen, they know how to deal with it.
Lawyer Bohdan Shulakewych, principal of Shulakewych
Macri in Toronto, says elderly
people get divorced for a variety
of reasons, one being that their
children, who were the focus of
their lives, have left the nest and
the couple may find they’re no
longer interested in each other.
“Everything that may have
been under the surface becomes
magnified and in some of these
situations they [the couple] don’t
have the coping mechanisms to
adjust to one another.”
Other times, a wife who has
stayed home to raise children
might not want to deal with a
husband who has retired and is
around the home full-time, he
says. “The spouse may say, ‘I took
care of all the kids, I don’t want to
take care of you too.’”
Occasionally, a marriage splits
up because one of the partners has
Alzheimer’s and no longer recog-
nizes the other, says Shulakewych,
who specializes in family and
estates litigation. “They don’t get
divorced out of a sense of mean-
ness, it’s just it’s so incredibly
psychologically, emotionally and
spiritually hard for them to con-
tinue with somebody that no
longer recognizes them,” he says.
“Many times, these people have
been together for 50 years and all
of a sudden this happens and boom
it’s like: ‘I don’t know who you are.’”
According to Shulakewych, law-
yers handling elderly clients who
are getting a divorce need to con-
sider myriad items. First, he says,
the lawyer should send the client
for a medical to determine if there
are any conditions such as Alz-
heimer’s, which could be a factor
when deciding on spousal support.
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