Imagine you and your spouse are in your 50s. You’ve saved up a nest-egg to pay for your retirement years. However, your spouse develops Alzheimer’s disease, which means that you and your spouse are going to endure massive medical bills. Those bills could result in the exhaustion of all your retirement. Essentially, you and your spouse will have to wait until you’re impoverished before Medicaid kicks in to help with the bills. One solution to this dilemma could be divorce.
If you get a divorce, you’ll split up the assets between you and your spouse. In fact, your spouse could give up all of their assets to you, and that would allow them to qualify to receive Medicaid benefits immediately. This would allow you to preserve the family retirement assets.
The fact is, many senior divorces these days are just a matter of financial planning. If one spouse needs to go into a long-term care facility, this strategy could save the family’s financial resources — and your inheritance for the children — from almost certain ruin.
Although this seems to be a “win-win” financially for both you and your spouse, there’s a very important thing you’ll need to face: getting a divorce on paper. Many couples don’t like the idea that they would have to disrupt their sacred love bonds just to pay the bills. Indeed, it’s not a very pleasant thing for any couple to have to do.
If you’re facing a situation like this, you need to understand all of the facts to evaluate your legal options. Our Connecticut family law firm is available to talk to you about your case and advise you of the most appropriate steps you can take.
