Past studies indicate that nationwide, including in Missouri, women take a harder financial hit than men as a result of getting divorced. One study even observed a drop in post-divorce income for women while men had increases in their income after the divorce. One thing that some experts criticize is the tendency of women to want to retain the marital residence coming out of a divorce.
This was reported to have a negative impact, especially when it was clear that the divorce left her with insufficient budgetary means to support all of the payments and upkeep expenses on the house. Family law experts report seeing many women lose that asset within a year or two of the divorce. Now, however, a new study from an established university points to the woman’s retention of the home as a marker indicating success after divorce.
The study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College suggests that the long-term financial well-being of divorced women is measured by leaving the divorce with a home of their own. The researchers who conducted the study tried to clarify the findings by saying that it was the acquisition of assets in the divorce settlement that indicated future success and not the specific acquisition of the home. One of the factors that does impact the woman’s success when a home is taken instead of a more liquid asset is the fact that she may dissipate the assets less quickly.
It is easy for a woman, or a man for that matter, to tap a liquid resource rather than a piece of real estate. Taking cash from retirement funds to pay for a vacation or other amenity in life will likely initiate a tendency to turn there repetitively for cash funds. Divorce attorneys nationwide, including in Missouri, continue to assert that keeping the home in adverse financial circumstances could lead to big troubles.
