You may have heard that the overall divorce rate throughout the nation has decreased in recent years; however, that only seems to be the case for people under age 50. If you have already celebrated a birthday beyond that, you’re part of a group who has doubled its rate of divorce in the last 20 years. Did you recently tell your adult children and a few close friends you’re planning to divorce?
If so, you may have gotten a wide range of reactions. Perhaps one of your children told you that your news did not really come as a surprise while another expressed shock and confusion. Hopefully, you have friends who can relate to your situation who will provide strong support and encouragement as you adapt to a new lifestyle after age 50. Discussing the topic with others may also help you gain understanding as to why so many people your age are ending their marriages.
Life expectancy major factor in late life divorces
A key issue that appears to have a significant impact on marriage is the fact that people live longer nowadays. Because of this, many marriages among those age 50 and beyond may experience substantial strains simply because couples co-exist a lot longer than those in previous centuries did. The following list includes other issues that may cause marital decline if you are age 50 or older:
- Whether for financial reasons or seeking assistance raising children in other divorce situations, many adult children are moving back in with their aging parents. The adjustment needed to make this type of situation work often proves too difficult for some married couples.
- Perhaps one of the issues that led to your desire to divorce had to do with unresolved problems that you simply determined you could no longer tolerate. Many spouses do their best to overlook certain things when they are young or raising children together but, as time goes on, and they enter their 50s, they are less willing to ignore the pink elephant in the room.
- Another common factor in many gray divorces has to do with retirement. You and your spouse may not be prepared to spend the extra amount of time together you experience when you both stop working outside the home.
Some spouses say they were hoping to rejuvenate youthful feelings when they sought romantic relationships with people other than the spouse to whom they were married for several decades. Regardless what particular issues prompted your divorce, you likely hope to get through the process with as little stress as possible.
Many others who have achieved successful settlements in Illinois say their greatest asset was relying on experienced and aggressive legal representation in court.
