If You’re Not Rich, Divorce Can Be Financially Devastating

New York Times ^ | 11/15/2014 | TERESA TRITCH

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There is a long list of women* who have amassed personal fortunes by divorcing rich husbands — and as far as I can tell, they deserved every penny. This week Sue Ann Hamm joined it when a court ordered her ex-husband, Harold Hamm, the Oklahoma oil man, to pay her some $1 billion in cash and assets, or about $38 million per year of a 26-year marriage.

Ms. Hamm plans to appeal on the grounds that the award grossly undervalues her share of the wealth accumulated during the marriage, Reuters reported on Thursday. If Ms. Hamm gets anywhere near half of Mr. Hamm’s stake in his oil company, currently valued around $13.5 billion, she will catapult to No. 1 on the rich divorcee list, far outdistancing Elena Rybolovleva, who received $4.8 billion this year from her ex-husband, Dmitri Rybolovlev, the Russian “fertilizer king.”

Meanwhile, back in the real world, divorce is still financially devastating. Overall, a man’s income drops 23 percent after divorce, while a woman’s income drops 41 percent.

Divorce is also increasingly common among couples, like the Hamms, who are age 50 and older. (Ms. Hamm is in her late 50s and Mr. Hamm is 68.) From 1990 to 2010, the divorce rate doubled for people 50+, while the rate for the general population was flat, according to a report this month in the AARP Bulletin by Jane Bryant Quinn. In all, one fourth of all divorces in 2010 were for people age 50 and up.

[jttpwalsh]

Oh my, Rose, I can’t even imagine that. I hope that you are well, today. Regards, Jttpwalsh.