• 16
  • June
    2011

The number of divorces filed by couples over 50 has increased at a record pace; doubling since the early 1990s. And for many baby boomers, a marital dissolution later in life is not their first experience with property division, alimony and other family law issues.

Data provided by the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University reveals that over two thirds of men and women married in the late 1950s reached their 25th wedding anniversary. But for the generation that entered marriage twenty years later, less than half of all first marriages lasted that long. Census data from 2004 revealed that 30 percent of Americans in their 50s who were married had already been divorced at least once.

For a variety of reasons, divorce after 50 presents distinct challenges from those faced by younger couples who part ways. Things to consider:

•· Older couples tend to have more complex and diverse assets, including pensions, IRAs and other retirement funds that have already or will soon come into play

•· Spouses involved in a second or third divorce may have obligations from a previous split that require close scrutiny to ensure a fair division of property and financial obligations

•· Divorce later in life can jeopardize the financial interests of children from a previous marriage or born out of wedlock for whom the spouse expected to provide

An experienced family law attorney can help you assess the financial implications of divorce and identify issues that you may not have considered. While it is always important to get the details right, divorce after 50 makes this challenge especially critical given each individuals' relatively short remaining working years and immediate need to ensure future financial security.