How Can Seniors Successfully Navigate a New Marriage

It’s natural for couples in love to marry, even for seniors. Although more mature adults may have more things to consider than younger couples, talking about how you’ll make your life together can help show you that it’s not as difficult as you might imagine.

What Can You Do to Prepare?

Open communication in any relationship is an essential key to success. Don’t assume that important issues will comfortably fall into place without talking about them first because those assumptions can cause significant problems.

Where Will You Live?

Both people might have homes they’ve lived in for a long time, homes with many happy memories. In cases like that, it can be challenging to decide which house to live in.

Each of you should express your opinion and desire about where to live, but you should make the decision together. You may choose to sell or rent one home out while living in the other or to pass ownership to one of your children; you might even decide to sell both houses and buy a new one. If you’re planning on purchasing in Albuquerque, research home prices and neighborhoods before deciding where to relocate. Alternatively, you could look into senior housing communities, which can provide you with the coziness and amenities you need without a lot of the upkeep associated with home ownership.

How Will You Handle Finances?

Each spouse has a lifetime of accumulated assets, present income, and possibly debts. Both might have pensions from previous employment. You still need to decide everyday things like whether or not to combine checking accounts, but you also need to determine your future financial plans.

If you have children and grandchildren, you’ve probably already written a will leaving your assets to them. Financial planning for a new marriage needs to include the probability that one spouse will outlive the other, and you may need to update your wills to reflect that.

Discussing and agreeing upon a budget is vital. Money and the way it’s spent causes many conflicts in marriages regardless of age. If necessary, get in touch with a financial advisor to discuss ways you can make your budget work. At the same time, you may want to get in touch with elder law specialists who can help your long-term finances, as well as other legal matters that could affect you both in the future.

What Should You Update?

Your new marriage requires you to update many documents and several other types of information. These can include:

• Deeds and titles
• Financial account authorizations
• Social Security information
• Medical insurance information
• Living trusts and wills
• Driver’s license
• Address
• Life insurance policies

What if Your Families Disagree With Your Marriage?

Unfortunately, some families don’t approve of senior marriages. While this situation is very stressful for everyone involved, it doesn’t need to prevent couples from being happy together. Speak to your children or other disapproving family members candidly, but gently ask them to respect your wishes and decisions. With time, it's likely that they will come around.

If your family is concerned about their inheritance, you can tell them the provisions in your new will at your discretion.

Why Not Start a Business Together?

Owning a business in retirement doesn’t have to be a nine-to-five commitment; you can set your own hours. If you start a freelancing or consulting business, you can make money while using the skills you already have. If both spouses contribute to the business, it can be a productive, even fun way to spend more time together and relieve boredom.

If you decide to start a new company, you’ll need to choose a business structure. You’ll also have to consider how you’ll market your products and services. This involves building a website, promoting your business on social media, and designing a logo. If you need help with logo design, take advantage of an online tool that allows you to choose a logo template and then add your own colors, images, and icons.

Are You Ready To Tie the Knot?

Congratulations! Although seniors face plenty of things to deal with when they get married, talking about each issue openly can smooth the way to an agreement that is comfortable for each spouse.

Do you have an aging loved one who needs extra support? Senior.One lets you manage and better understand their care options so you can determine next steps.