Obviously no one goes into a marriage planning on getting a divorce but nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce. Divorce has an extremely negative impact on finances. Just the legal cost of a divorce itself runs about $20,000 per couple, which instead could have grown to just over $64k in retirement savings if invested at 6% over 20 years instead.
There are other hidden costs. Splitting assets may have tax implications with an investment sale triggering capital gains taxes. Selling property may also result in a “fire sale” at an inopportune time in order to dissolve the financial union, resulting in thousands of dollars in losses. When the going gets tough in a marriage, I would like to tell my twenty year old self that 86% of married couples who reported being unhappy in their marriage reported that things had improved within a few years. Though this is not true for all marriages and some couples aren’t meant to be together, being happily married can be a great boost to your financial health.
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