The economy is pulling marital bliss right down the crapper along with it and due to fewer assets raising the temperature of already emotional and heated divorces to boiling level. Many divorcees are already fighting over money and with the economy doing so poorly are now dividing up debts rather than fighting over summer homes and frequent flier miles. MSNBC reported on a case in which a freshly divorced husband and wife had to remain living in the same home because they couldn't afford to live elsewhere and another case in which the income of the involved parties had to be adjusted down from $15 million to under $1 million causing even more bitterness!

Historically divorces and the economy have had an interesting relationship, in the last 3 recessions the divorce rates have risen and peaked within a year of the end of the recession. In the early eighties the divorce rate peaked at 5.3 per 1,000 during the recession caused by the Iranian revolution after which it tapered off until the early nineties where it again capped off at 4.8 during a downturn in the industrial and manufacturing industry. Finally the divorce rate climbed back up to its most recent high as the tech bubble popped and dot coms began failing.

He was a classy, hard working old gent and he owned his home free and clear. He didn't owe anything to anyone. He passed away unexpectedly one day without leaving a will. Now, several thousand dollars of attorney's fees have piled up yet basically nothing has been accomplished to bring his estate to closure. Therein lies the legacy of my father-in-law.

There are two ways to handle the planning of your estate settlement. You can learn what you need to know and execute what is generally a fairly simple plan, or you can ignore the fact that some day you'll fade away from this life and thereby leave the distribution of your assets to the law and to chance. My recommendation is that you begin the learning process right this very minute. What you learn through this blog post could actually affect your heirs for decades to come.