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What type of married couple is the least-likely to get a divorce? If you answered older couples who have been married longer, then you’re in for a shock. People over 50 is the fastest-growing demographic for divorce in the country. Roughly 50 years ago, less than three percent of all people over the age of 50 were divorced. Today, that number is north of 15 percent, showing a sudden and rapid rise.

Why the Sudden Rise?

Believe it or not, divorce rates are actually declining in the United States as the millennial generation has shown a much stronger hesitation and apathy towards marriage than previous generations. However, their parents have begun to embrace divorce with open arms. In fact, roughly one out of every four divorces today is a couple over the age of 50.

There are many different reasons for this. For starters, couples who have decided to stick it out “for the kids” have now seen their young ones grow up, move out, and start families of their own, leading nothing left in the home besides the unsatisfying marriage. Furthermore, the stigma behind divorce has dissipated to the point where it’s almost non-existent anymore. Combine this with increased lifespans, better healthcare, and a stronger sense of gender-equality and empowerment, and more people are pursuing what they see as a decision that will make them happier in their golden years.

Subsequent marriages are also a particularly high risk for divorces, with second or third unions being nearly two and a half times more likely to dissolve than a first marriage.

Extra Considerations

If a divorce in this later age would truly make you happy, then by all means you should consider it as a viable option. However, there are some extra things you need to keep in mind that younger couples won’t need to focus on so much. For starters, older couples are generally wealthier, having ownership of a much larger amount of assets thanks to their years of work experience and savings for retirement.

Second, older couples both will start to experience more health issues, and that means they’ll need to carefully consider where their health insurance is coming from. Generally, when one spouse gets their insurance from their spouse’s employer, they run the risk of losing access to this coverage when the divorce is finalized.

Finally, dividing assets can become substantially more difficult. A younger couple often still has a lot of what they brought into the divorce, making it separately-held property. Older couples have little, if any of this property left, meaning virtually all of their possessions are community and will need to be subject to equitable division.

Considering a divorce over the age of 50? Call Smith Law Offices, LLC today at (636) 400-1177 to request a case evaluation and speak with one of our St. Charles divorce lawyers.
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