If you’re over the age of 50, you know — just from talking with your friends — that incidents of people getting divorced over the age of 50 have been on the rise. A new statistic from Pew Research Center, however, may surprise you: The divorce rate for people in the 50-plus age category has doubled.
The older the married person is, the more likely he or she is to get a divorce. The divorce rate for seniors over the age of 65, for example, has tripled according to Pew.
These statistics are the most applicable to older spouses involved in short marriages. Spouses who’ve been married longer have a higher chance of staying together.
Information collected from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center of Health Statistics revealed that 10 out of every 1,000 spouses aged 50 and up got a divorce in 2015. This is double the number of divorces in 1990. Meanwhile, for every 1,000 spouses above the age of 65, six got divorced in 2015, which is triple the rate from 1990.
Interestingly, it’s the youngest among us who appear to be staying married longer. Young spouses between the ages of 25 and 39 have benefited from divorce rates that have declined by 21 percent. Experts believe that this is the result of couples who have better educations and choose to get married later in life.
When older couples above the age of 50 get a divorce, the divorce proceedings may be more complicated because the couples may have more financial assets and property to divide. This can make the process more involved as the spouses navigate potential tax liabilities and asset liquidation strategies. As such, if you are over the age of 50 and contemplating divorce, you may want to talk with a divorce lawyer who can educate you on what to expect in terms of property division in your upcoming divorce.
Source: Washington Examiner, “Divorce rates double for graying Baby Boomers,” Paul Bedard, March 10, 2017