According to a recent report released by UBS Global Wealth Management, 56% of married women leave the financial planning and investment decisions to their husbands. This trend carries through to millennials as well, with 61% of younger women abstaining from serious involvement in household finances. While this hand-off approach may work well in marriage, many women find themselves woefully unprepared to handle their own finances subsequent to a divorce or the death of their spouse. Some discover previously unknown debts, secret spending by their spouse, and hidden accounts. Most women who have suffered through such an event encourage other women to get involved and break the cycle of financial abdication. These women practice what they preach, as eight in ten women who have been widowed or divorced take a much more active role in the financial decisions in their current relationships.
See Suzanne Woolley, Rise of ‘Grey’ Divorce Forces Financial Reckoning After Age 50, Bloomberg, April 13, 2018.
