Divorce is not just the realm of young couples who realize that they made a mistake in getting married. In fact, research has found that this type of divorce — or, at least, divorce in this age bracket — has been dropping. It still happens, but it is not as common as it once was.
What is on the rise, however, is gray divorce, or divorce among couples who are generally in their 50s and 60s. This creates a very different scenario.
For instance, young parents who get divorced often have children. What they want to think about the most is what custody rights they have. They also have to think about how the divorce impacts the kids: Where they’ll live, where they go to school, who gets to make medical decisions, etc.
For those who are a bit further on in life, the focus shifts. Even if they have children, those children are often adults. Custody no longer matters. Instead, they start thinking about how they’ll divide assets, how they’re going to plan for retirement and what changes they need to make to their estate planning as a result of the divorce.
In short, the issues for gray divorce are often more financial than family-based. That doesn’t make the divorce harder or easier, or more or less emotional. It just changes the issues that people put their time into.
If you are facing a divorce at any age, it’s important to know what to focus on and what legal steps you need to take. Digging into this allows you to plan properly for what matters most to you.