While divorce is hard at any age, for midlife women whose time and energy has gone into their families -- not themselves -- it's particularly important to be as savvy as possible.  Since many women are far more likely than men to suffer financially when their marriage unravels. According to the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, a woman's standard of living will drop by as much as 27% -- compared to 10% for men -- after a divorce.

After her own experience, Melanie Johnson, our women and divorce expert, decided she wanted to help women avoid the pitfalls she didn't know about then.  When you're in midlife, if you suffer a drop in your standard of living, there aren't as many years left to make up the shortfall. Here, Melanie gives some great advice for us and for any woman we know going through this difficult transition.