Divorce can occur at all ages. But in recent years, divorces have surged among older people, creating a trend of so-called “gray divorce.”
Couples facing a gray divorce could encounter additional complications when determining how they’ll handle a new life alone. Older adults separate at a time when many face medical issues and late-in-life challenges.
A 2022 article in the Journal of Gerontology found this issue affects about 36% of U.S. adults divorcing at age 50 or older. The study noted that these statistics are “raising new questions about how they will navigate old age.”
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What Is Gray Divorce?
“Gray divorce” typically refers to divorce experienced by an older couple in a long-term marriage, not divorce after a brief second or third marriage, although these instances are also often included in research.
The gray divorce rate has more than doubled since 1990, according to Bowling Green State University.
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What Are the Legal Challenges of a Gray Divorce?
Divorces can be amenable, but some can correspond with acrimony due to infidelity, unhappiness or lack of communication.
“Once people get their kids off to college, some people may have held it together, they say for the kids, but once the kids are off and gone, and then all of a sudden there’s this reality of, ‘Oh, this is me and this other person for the rest of our lives, I don’t know how that’s going to work,'” says Christine Rollins, professor of law at Saint Louis University.
The financial calculus may have changed as well. Decades ago, when these couples first married, permanent alimony was more routinely granted to the nonworking spouse. Now, that is rarer, especially if both people can work.
“Family law has evolved over time,” says Zanita Fenton, a family law professor at the University of Miami School of Law. “Courts are very unlikely, very reticent, to grant permanent alimony.”
Previously, property might have been in only one person’s name. Or perhaps, one partner worked and the other was the primary caretaker. Someone who has been a primary caretaker and has not worked for decades will need to consider how she’ll take care of herself, Fenton says.
Also, although gray divorces might not typically involve young children, with reproductive technologies making it possible to become parents later in life, it’s possible that a gray divorce could still involve child custody and visitation decisions.
Estate planning can become more complex in situations of gray divorce, especially after a second or third marriage. “You think about: ‘I don’t want this to all become marital property, this is separate property, and how do I protect that so that I can get my children to get their inheritance in case I die in this second marriage?'” Rollins says.
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How Can Someone Prepare for a Gray Divorce?
In some ways, preparing for a gray divorce involves the same factors as any divorce. Couples will divvy up assets and decide who keeps what. But gray divorcees should prepare for life to look different.
“Nobody’s going to live at the same level that they had anticipated or that they did prior to the divorce,” Fenton says.
It can make tasks such as funding retirement plans and accounts, and accounting for long-term care for medical issues, more urgent. Also, experts say that debts are a key thing to consider in gray divorces. Spending decades together means couples have more years to amass debts, some potentially unknown to a spouse.
To prepare for a gray divorce, Rollins says, people should consult with their financial advisor and anyone who helps with their taxes.
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How to Navigate the Legal Hurdles of Gray Divorce originally appeared on usnews.com
