As your marriage comes to a conclusion and you get divorced, you’re probably thinking about your future and your finances. They are certainly intertwined, especially since you have to split up marital assets with your spouse at this time. In many ways, divorce is a financial exercise.
One thing to keep in mind as you work through this process is that your standard of living is likely going to change. You want to make sure that you secure the correct financial assets to carry on a stable and secure life after the divorce. But exactly how is your standard of living going to shift? That is a bit more complicated.
Gender plays a part
The reason for this complication is that there are some significant gender differences. In heterosexual marriages between a man and a woman, it has been found that the standard of living for women tends to decline by 20% and the standard of living for men tends to go up by 30%. Meanwhile, the post-divorce poverty rate for women is three times as high – at 27% – as the poverty rate for divorced men.
Granted, in 2022, women are more involved in the workforce than they ever have been. Over time, things could change and even out so that standards of living are not so tied to your gender – at least, not the same way they were in the past when it was more common for men to work and women to stay home and take care of the house.
But this difference in standards of living is still a notable occurrence and you need to be aware of it as you work through your divorce. Be sure you know what legal steps you can take to protect your future.