High-Net-Worth Divorce Specialist
Business equity, retirement accounts, real estate — Massachusetts equitable distribution requires expertise. This guide shows you exactly what you're entitled to.
Leanne Ozaine, CDFA® & CFP® | Specializing in high-asset divorces
Turn Panic Into Power — $97For 30 years, your spouse handled the finances. The biotech stock options. The retirement accounts. The real estate investments.
Now you're expected to negotiate a settlement that will determine what you live on for the rest of your life. You're supposed to understand QDROs, coverture fractions, and the difference between marital and separate property — in 6 months. While you're still in shock.
The spouse who controlled the money has every advantage. They know where the accounts are. They understand what assets are liquid. They can make a terrible offer sound reasonable to someone who's never managed the investments.
Women over 50 face a 45% drop in standard of living after divorce. The gap between men (21% drop) and women isn't random — it's what happens when one spouse knows the money and the other doesn't.
You don't need to become a financial expert overnight. You need someone in your corner who already is one — someone whose only job is making sure you understand what you're signing and what you'll actually live on.
If you're over 50 and facing divorce in Massachusetts, you're navigating one of America's wealthiest states with uniquely complex financial considerations. Your divorce likely isn't about custody battles—your children are grown, independent, or attending Boston's prestigious universities. Instead, your divorce centers on dividing decades of accumulated wealth built in one of the nation's most educated, high-income regions.
Here's what makes Massachusetts unique for gray divorce: Massachusetts follows "equitable distribution," meaning assets are divided fairly (but not necessarily equally—typically 50/50 to 70/30 based on circumstances). Unlike community property states with automatic 50/50 splits, Massachusetts judges have broad discretion. The state also has high income taxes (5% flat rate, but upcoming changes), very high real estate values in Boston metro, and concentrations of wealth in healthcare, education, biotech, and finance.
If you've never personally managed the household finances—perhaps your spouse handled medical practice income, Harvard/MIT retirement benefits, biotech stock options, or real estate portfolios while you focused on family and home—you're now facing critical questions about your financial future in one of America's most expensive regions.
Massachusetts uses "equitable distribution," meaning assets are divided fairly based on statutory factors—not automatically 50/50 like community property states.
Key differences from community property:
For gray divorce: After 20-40 year marriages, Massachusetts courts typically divide close to 50/50, but outcomes are less predictable than community property states.
Massachusetts law gives judges significant discretion to divide marital property "equitably" (fairly) based on factors including:
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 208, Section 34 directs courts to consider:
For gray divorce: Long marriages (20-40 years) with one spouse focused on homemaking typically result in close-to-equal divisions, recognizing homemaker contributions.
Only marital property is subject to division:
Marital property (divisible):
Separate property (not divisible unless commingled):
The commingling trap: In long marriages (20-40 years), separate property often becomes marital property through commingling. For example, inherited money deposited into joint accounts likely became marital property.
Massachusetts is a global healthcare leader. Medical practices and hospital system employment create significant wealth:
Common healthcare assets:
Medical practices and retirement benefits accumulated during marriage are marital property subject to equitable division.
Greater Boston has the highest concentration of universities in America. Academic careers create unique assets:
Massachusetts is America's biotech capital (Cambridge "Biotech Hub"). Stock-based compensation is common:
Stock options and RSUs granted during marriage are marital property subject to equitable division.
Greater Boston real estate values are among America's highest:
Typical appreciation scenarios:
Division rules: Homes purchased during marriage with marital funds are marital property, subject to equitable division (typically 50/50 after long marriages).
For 50+ divorcing Massachusetts residents, retirement accounts are often the most valuable assets:
Common retirement assets:
Division requires: Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) for private plans or court order.
If you were married for 10+ years, you can claim Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's earnings record (up to 50% of their benefit) without affecting their benefits. This is especially valuable if you didn't work outside the home or had lower earnings.
Important: Remarrying before age 60 terminates your ability to claim on an ex-spouse's record.
Massachusetts reformed alimony in 2012, creating durational limits and formulas:
Duration limits based on marriage length:
Termination: Alimony generally terminates at payor's full retirement age (Social Security), unless marriage lasted 20+ years or other factors apply.
While our primary focus is gray divorce (50+ with grown children), some clients have high school or college-age children. Massachusetts uses income-based guidelines for child support. However, for most 50+ clients, children are financially independent, and divorce planning centers entirely on asset division and retirement security.
High incomes and wealth: Healthcare, education, biotech, finance create substantial assets to divide.
Equitable distribution uncertainty: Unlike community property's automatic 50/50, outcomes are less predictable.
Very high real estate values: Decades of Boston-area homeownership creates massive equity.
Complex retirement benefits: TIAA-CREF, university pensions, hospital 403(b) plans require sophisticated planning.
We provide virtual divorce financial planning services throughout Massachusetts. Explore detailed guidance for these major regions:
Healthcare/biotech wealth, university faculty, high real estate, financial services, professional practices in America's education capital.
Learn more →Wealthy inner suburbs, excellent schools, professional class wealth, high real estate values, established families.
Learn more →Top-tier suburbs, executive wealth, family estates, country club communities, high-income professionals.
Learn more →Second homes, vacation properties, retirement destinations, real estate portfolios, seasonal wealth.
Learn more →More affordable Central Massachusetts, healthcare practices, manufacturing, middle-class wealth, college towns.
Learn more →Coastal wealth, historic estates, second homes, financial professionals, Boston commuters.
Learn more →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 — $97Massachusetts' equitable distribution creates uncertainty, but also opportunity for fair outcomes. Whether you've managed healthcare practice finances for decades or you're learning about TIAA-CREF for the first time, we provide the education and guidance you need.
Turn Panic Into Power — $97 Schedule a Strategy Session