Gray Divorce

Studies show that the overall rate of divorce has stayed somewhat constant for the last twenty years, however the rate of divorce among people over fifty years old has more than doubled in the same time period. These are often called “Gray Divorces”. Nearly 25% of all divorces measured recently occurred in this population. This represents a 250% increase from similar rates twenty years earlier. The simple fact is that you may be, in some way, involved in a gray divorce.

The simple fact is that in increasing numbers older couples are deciding that they do not want to spend their retirement years with their current spouse. A host of issues come up in divorce when it occurs at this stage of life:

While a divorce can help a person’s emotional well-being, it can be very difficult financially and problematic unwinding a couple’s financial life.
Many retirements decisions, such as when to retire, and levels of spending, were possibly made assuming an intact marriage. But following a divorce and liquidation of certain assets, individual may no longer have sufficient funds to retire. Divorced individuals may end up working many more years than expected as a result.