Divorce rates in the United States have risen and fallen at certain times. When no-fault divorce first became legal, for example, there was a substantial rise in divorce cases. But for many young couples today, the divorce rate is actually falling.
Interestingly, however, this declining trend does not apply to Baby Boomers or others in older age brackets. These cases are often referred to as gray divorces. They have been increasing by a substantial amount in recent years. For anyone over 45, the divorce rate has been going up. For those over 65, the divorce rate has tripled in the past three decades.
Financial complexities
Gray divorce cases are often financially complicated. On one hand, older couples often have a larger store of marital assets that must be divided. They have accumulated more wealth, savings, investments and tangible assets. They may own multiple homes, vehicles and other expensive items. Simply by being together for so long, more of their lives are intertwined, and they have had longer to build up their wealth, which now has to be split.
Another issue to consider is that people in this age bracket are often planning for retirement or long-term care needs. They have to think about the future. A divorce is going to dramatically impact their finances, and they need to know what this is going to mean for their budget moving forward – and how they can preserve assets that they were counting on.
For Baby Boomers and other older couples, it is very important to understand all of the legal steps to take when navigating a gray divorce.