Young lovers enter marriage with more dreams than money, but older ones have spent decades building financial habits and assets. If one person has carefully saved for retirement while the other spends everything as quickly as it comes in, a prenuptial agreement may be in order. Even a financially compatible couple may want to talk to an accountant. Remarriage can affect everything from a homemaker's Social Security and pension benefits to tax breaks on selling a home. Barton recommends spending at least a year planning the finances of a new marriage.
Many older people have rich sex lives, but others face physical impediments or loss of desire.
Choosing a home Many experts and remarried couples recommend choosing a new home together if possible. It won't be steeped in memories of the previous spouse, and neither person will feel like a guest or intruder. For the Woodys, that worked well. Meriam Woody had bought a smaller house while still married to her first husband, but he died before they moved in. When she married William Woody, they added rooms and decorated together.