05/23/2026
Cha-Ching! $
This one is worth reading.
Debi Petriscak was 64 when her marriage ended after 38 years. The separation from the father of her four children upended the retirement she had been envisioning.
As part of the settlement, Petriscak, now 71, took ownership of the family home in Calabasas, Calif. But maintenance costs were high, and the memories made living in the house painful.
When she sold it about four years later, she was hit with a nearly $200,000 tax bill. Because she was filing as a single person, her capital gains tax exclusion dropped to $250,000 from $500,000.
This “single penalty” resulted in a substantial tax hit that she could have avoided had the home been sold soon after the divorce.
The sting didn't end there. Because the house sale drove up her reported income for the year, she was hit with an IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) surcharge, a cost that caused her Medicare Part B and D premiums to more than double.
Seeking a fresh start, Petriscak retired from her career as a geriatric nurse practitioner and left California. She moved to Birmingham, Ala., to be near some of her adult children.
“Being closer to my family saved me,” she says.
Here, Petriscak and three others open up to us about their post-divorce retirement finances and how they spend their time.
🔗: https://on.wsj.com/3RgjljZ
