Be careful to whom you're married as you approach retirement age...There are those spouses with their own retirement plans which might include a considerable unearned amount of what was believed to have been earmarked for sharing in the golden years...Such spouses might be inclined to take their halves out of the juicy middle, leaving only a few dried out scraps of crust for which the remaining "partner for life" is expected to be grateful...
For some, the only saving grace lies in the fact that greed sometimes oversteps reach, and backfires as a plan collapses upon its unsupported and poorly engineered structure, but at a cost which severely impacts the future happiness of both participants...In such a case in which I have personal insight, the devious and acquisitive half, having ambushed the unsuspecting and clueless half with a cruel, unexpected blow from behind, thought she might become independently wealthy in one stroke at the expense of the hapless victim lying dazed on the floor of a divorce courtroom...
To the regret of the one with no scruples, the bloodied victim rose from his intended tomb of despair to recover his senses long enough to engage competent counsel, thereby thwarting the evil plans of the other...In the end the entire episode proved most costly to both participants, becoming an object lesson for both...One regained a forgotten skill in careful allocation of remaining funds, and lives a comfortable life, though not at the level originally planned for...The evil half chose to blame others for what she saw as undeserved continuation of working for a paycheck while being forced to pay a continually growing amount of new debt for which she blamed everyone except the one who incurred it...
I offer no moral for this story other than taking care when choosing with whom to lie down at night...Some bedpartners apparently lie awake at night concocting schemes for gaining unearned, and unshared wealth...Such schemes formed in the darkness sometimes have hidden pitfalls which become visible as the fog lifts, and the light of day illuminates it for all to see...
I might add in a way more practically suited to the purpose of this article, each person is allowed an individual retirement savings account which has some tax advantages for both partners in a marriage when the accounts are kept separate...Ah, the lessons we learn late in life...
More articles concerning Other Thoughts...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments and critiques are always welcome, and will be reviewed before publication...They will not be seen immediately...Keep it clean please...