Divorce Financial Impact Simulator

Treat the output as a planning sketch, not a legal answer. Real divorce numbers depend on your state, the judge, your attorneys' positions, what you can agree on, and dozens of facts this calculator can't see (length of marriage, fault, prenups, separate property, business interests, special-needs children). Use this to ask better questions of your attorney, not to predict the final numbers.

Most U.S. states use equitable distribution, which means “fair” rather than “equal.” Courts weigh income disparity, marriage length, custody, and contributions. This calculator approximates that by skewing the split toward the lower earner (about 55/45 with a moderate income gap). The nine community-property states (CA, TX, AZ, NV, ID, LA, NM, WA, WI) start closer to 50/50 by default: pick that mode if that's you.

Retirement accounts are split using a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), which lets one spouse's share transfer to the other's retirement account without triggering income tax or the 10% early-withdrawal penalty. Cash it out instead, and you owe both. The calculator assumes a QDRO: no tax on the split itself, only on eventual withdrawals.

Toggle between “sell & split” and “A keeps” / “B keeps” and watch the net worth lines and cash flow shift. Selling crystallizes selling costs (6–10%) but gives each party flexibility. Keeping the house ties up a lot of net worth in one illiquid asset and requires the keeper to refinance the mortgage in their name alone, which often needs single-income qualifying.

It uses a simplified income-shares model: combine both parents' incomes, apply a typical “basic obligation” rate per child (roughly 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three), then divide it by each parent's income share and adjust for parenting time. The non-custodial parent pays. Actual amounts vary significantly by state: some states use percentage-of-obligor models instead, and most have minimum/maximum caps and adjustments for healthcare and childcare costs.

A lot. Not modeled: attorney fees and mediation costs (often $15k–$50k+ per side); separate property and inheritances; business valuations; stock options and RSUs; insurance and benefit losses; cost-of-living changes from running two households; tax bracket shifts post-divorce; capital gains on the home above the $250k exclusion; pension valuation and present-value calculations; Social Security claiming impacts; healthcare coverage gaps. This tool answers “what does the shape of the deal look like?”: not “what will it actually cost.”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the federal alimony deduction for divorces finalized on or after January 1, 2019. The payor no longer deducts it; the recipient no longer reports it as income. Pre-2019 divorces are grandfathered into the old rules. Some states still allow a state-level deduction: check your state's rules.

For modeling purposes, 15–30% of the income gap is a defensible starting range for marriages of moderate length. Long marriages (20+ years) tend toward the higher end and longer durations; short marriages (under 5 years) often result in no alimony at all. Some states have explicit formulas (Massachusetts caps at 30–35% of the gap); others leave it entirely to the judge. Move the slider to see how sensitive the cash flow is.

It is almost always an emotional decision more than a financial one. Keeping the house ties up most of your net worth in one illiquid, expensive-to-carry asset and forces you to qualify for the existing mortgage on a single income. The calculator's warning system will flag scenarios where the keeper has “almost no liquid assets”: that's a financial red flag, even if staying feels like the right call for the kids. Try toggling “Sell & split” and watching both spouses' stability scores; if they jump, the house is the problem.

Generally, retirement beats the house, dollar for dollar, if you have a long time horizon. The house carries ongoing costs (taxes, insurance, repairs, the mortgage) and grows at roughly inflation; a diversified retirement account compounds at real returns of 4–7% with no carrying cost. The exceptions: if you need somewhere stable for the kids during transition, or if the local housing market is unusually strong. Use the “A keeps” vs “B keeps” toggle and watch the year-15 net worth lines: the keeper usually ends up behind unless their separate income can sustain the carry.

The headline “Cost of Divorce” card shows two numbers. The immediate cost is selling costs (if you sell the house) plus legal fees for both spouses. Uncontested divorces can run a few thousand dollars per side; contested divorces routinely hit $25k–$50k+ per side, and high-conflict litigation can exceed $100k. The long-term cost is the gap between projected combined net worth post-divorce versus what the same household would have built staying married: usually much larger because two households cost roughly 1.5× what one cost, eating into savings rates for decades.

Community property states (CA, TX, AZ, NV, ID, LA, NM, WA, WI) treat marital assets as 50/50 owned and split them down the middle by default. Equitable distribution states (everywhere else) split marital assets “fairly,” weighing income disparity, marriage length, custody, contributions, and other factors. “Fair” usually skews toward the lower earner, especially in long marriages: commonly landing in the 55/45 to 60/40 range. Toggle “50 / 50” vs “Equitable” on the split-mode pills to see how much your state's regime affects outcomes.

Retirement accounts accumulated during marriage are typically marital property, regardless of whose name is on the account. They're divided using a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) which transfers the awarded share to the receiving spouse's retirement account: no income tax, no 10% early withdrawal penalty. Cashing out instead triggers both. The receiving spouse can then keep it invested or, in limited circumstances, withdraw it (still subject to ordinary income tax). Don't let one spouse keep “their” 401(k) in exchange for non-retirement assets without doing the math: tax-deferred dollars compound differently than after-tax dollars.