"I'm 62 with $1M saved. Should my husband and I get a divorce to protect our retirement?"
HerMoney with Jean ChatzkyShow Notes
Nobody wants to think about the possibility of losing their spouse to Alzheimer's. But what if planning ahead meant considering something as unexpected as divorce? That's exactly the question Susan is grappling with today.
Susan is 62, still working, and earning around $100K a year. Her husband is 65 and already retired. Together they've built a solid financial foundation — over $778K in investments, $181K in savings, and more than $762K in assets, all with no debt. By most measures, they're in great shape. But the potential cost of memory care and assisted living has them worried that everything they've worked for could be wiped out.
In this episode, Jean and Susan cover:
What a "Medicaid divorce" actually is, and whether it's a legitimate financial strategy
How Medicaid spend-down rules work and what they mean for married couples
What asset protection strategies exist beyond divorce
How to think through the emotional and financial costs of planning for a spouse's cognitive decline
If today's conversation made you think about how to protect your retirement, Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is the perfect next step. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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