Managing several versions of serialized Java objects

Question

Lets say that I have a program that for some reason need to handle old versions of serialized objects.

Eg: when deserializing, one of these versions may be encounter

Answer 1

You do not have to maintain multiple version of the class. The latest version should be sufficient. See the link 5 things you don't know about Serialization specifically "Refactoring Serialized Class"