Retirement at different times

In Life After Law: What Will You Do for the Next 6,000 Days? I focused on the options available to the lawyer in the last phase of his / her career and how to prepare for a profitable exit strategy.  What I did not address, however, is the lawyer whose spouse is working and may not yet be ready to retire, travel or otherwise be on the “same page” as the first spouse or significant other…

What to do?  The obvious response, as in so many such life situations, is communication.  Talk with your spouse or significant other.  Discuss the options open to the both of you.  Determine whether it’s o.k. for one to play, e.g., go skiing or traveling, etc., while the other stay home and works, whether the two can survive separate paths for a while and then come back together, and do this from time to time.

This is not a small issue or unimportant discussion, to be taken lightly.  It’s critical.  If not done well, you may find yourself in a divorce.  And if this results, you will feel as though you are in the center of a hurricane, or worse.  Aside from the psychological trauma, your financial projections which permitted the retirement, or change of career, go out the window … and you may be forced back to work, something you may or may not be able to do successfully.

Categorized in: Cash Flow - Finances