Get Back on Track After a Divorce

LAST month, I wrote about a survey in which the Employee Benefit Research Institute interviewed retirees on how satisfied they are with their financial situation in retirement (see “Living in Retirement,” April).

-  JANET BODNAR

Among the respondents, those who were separated or divorced were least satisfied with their financial well-being.

That’s not surprising when you consider that after divorce, “income drops for the vast majority of people,” says Stacy Francis, CEO of Francis Financial, in New York City. That's especially true for women who were not the primary breadwinners in their households or had spent years out of the workforce.

Getting your finances back on track should start even before you sign the divorce papers. “People who come to grips with the divorce early in the process will be in a much better position afterwards,” says Lisa Zeiderman, managing partner at the law firm Miller Zeiderman, in New York City.

That means staying on top of your finances so that, for example, you have credit in your own name, know where the money is, and are familiar with the divorce laws in your state.