SERIES: Recently divorced or widowed. Five step series to protecting your finances.

Part 2

Losing a spouse through death or divorce can be an emotionally devastating experience. And yet it’s typically a time when many financial matters require your immediate attention.

To help avoid making emotionally driven – and potentially harmful – financial decisions, it’s important to be prepared should you find yourself suddenly single. Here are five important action steps that can help protect your personal finances.

2. Divide or roll over retirement assets.

Pension and retirement account assets have their own set of rules when it comes to shifting ownership from one spouse to the other or splitting the assets.

Generally, upon the death of the account owner, retirement account assets pass directly to the beneficiary (often the spouse, for those who were married) designated on the account, while in cases of divorce, retirement assets are often split up as part of the divorce settlement.