Gray Divorce Financial Specialist
Pensions, retirement accounts, real estate — California's 50/50 split sounds simple. This guide shows you exactly what to protect.
Leanne Ozaine, CDFA® & CFP® | Specializing in gray divorce for 50+
Turn Panic Into Power — $97If you're over 50 and facing divorce in the Inland Empire, you're dealing with financial decisions that will affect the rest of your life. Child custody battles typically aren't your main concern—your children are grown or nearly grown. Instead, your divorce centers entirely on dividing decades of accumulated wealth: the home, pensions, retirement accounts, and investments.
This is especially challenging if you've never personally managed the family finances. Perhaps your spouse handled the 401(k), pension statements, and investment decisions while you focused on raising children or supporting their career. Now you're facing questions like:
Here's what nobody tells you: A "fair" settlement can still leave you struggling.
50/50 sounds equal. But if you take the house and your spouse takes the 401(k), only one of you has retirement income. A pension isn't cash. Tax treatment turns "half" into 40% or 60% depending on which half you take.
Your lawyer knows the law. They don't know what you'll live on for the next 30 years.
Most people sign their settlement while still in emotional shock. The brain is in survival mode — the prefrontal cortex that makes rational decisions is literally offline. By the time the fog lifts, the settlement is final.
You need someone whose only job is protecting your financial future — not billable hours, not legal posturing. Someone who can show you exactly what different settlement scenarios mean for your life 5, 10, 25 years from now.
When you can't trust anyone else in this process, you can trust me.
The Inland Empire has a significant public sector workforce — teachers, county employees, firefighters, law enforcement, and healthcare workers. Many of these professionals have defined benefit pensions that can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
CalPERS and CalSTRS: If your spouse works for a school district, county government, or state agency, their pension is community property earned during marriage. Understanding how to divide a pension — whether through a buy-out or a QDRO — is critical.
For those new to managing finances: A pension isn't just a retirement account — it's a promise of lifetime income. Knowing its true value and your share requires specialized analysis.
Inland Empire real estate has appreciated significantly over the past two decades. Homes purchased for $200K-$350K in the early 2000s are now worth $500K-$700K or more. This creates important divorce questions:
Key questions for gray divorce:
For many 50+ divorcing clients, the home represents both the largest asset and the most emotional decision.
Most Inland Empire couples approaching retirement have accumulated significant assets in 401(k)s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts. Dividing these accounts in divorce requires understanding:
Common mistake: Taking the house in exchange for "giving up" the 401(k) — without realizing the 401(k) is worth more when you factor in taxes and growth potential.
If you're between 50 and 65, you're not yet eligible for Medicare. Losing access to your spouse's employer-sponsored health insurance can be a major concern:
Healthcare costs must be factored into your post-divorce budget — they're often overlooked until it's too late.
In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, we work with clients divorcing after 20, 30, or 40+ years of marriage. Here's what makes gray divorce financially complex in this region:
When you're 50, 55, or older, you don't have decades to recover from a bad settlement. The decisions you make now determine whether you'll be comfortable or struggling in retirement. Every asset division choice has permanent consequences.
If you were married for at least 10 years, you may be entitled to Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's earnings record. Understanding when to claim, and how divorce affects your benefits, is critical for retirement planning.
Many of our Inland Empire clients — particularly those who focused on homemaking or supporting a spouse's career — have never personally managed investment accounts, retirement planning, or major financial decisions.
You're not alone: We help you understand what you have, how it works, and how to manage it going forward. Financial literacy is learnable at any age.
As an Inland Empire resident, your divorce follows California's strict community property laws. This means:
The Rule of 65: If your age plus years of marriage equals 65 or more, spousal support may continue indefinitely. This is particularly important for Inland Empire gray divorces where one spouse supported the other's career.
Learn more about California's community property laws →
We provide virtual divorce financial planning services throughout the Inland Empire, including:
The 5-step system that shows you what you'll actually live on, so you stop guessing and start knowing.
Calculate your real post-divorce income — including spousal support, assets, and earning potential — so you negotiate from facts, not fear.
Document gathering checklists tell you exactly what to bring to your attorney — so you walk in prepared, not panicked.
Map out your real expenses as a single person — before you fight for something you can't actually maintain.
The asset identification system helps you find accounts and property you might not even know exist.
22-page guide + video tutorials + checklists + templates
$97
Instant access. 100% money-back guarantee.
Get the Clarity You Need — $97Your lawyer handles the legal side. Your therapist handles the emotional side. But who's making sure the financial settlement actually works for your life — not just on paper, but 5, 10, 25 years from now?
Turn Panic Into Power — $97 Learn About the War Room