Many seniors in Connecticut who have been married for decades now find themselves in the position of going through a divorce. While sometimes only one party wants to split, other times both members of a couple decide that they want different things and that it would be best to part ways. People have begun referring to ending a marriage at this stage in your life as a “gray divorce” because of the color hair of many of its members. What are the implications of a gray divorce?
According to Kiplinger, this phenomenon has been on the rise in the United States, with one-fourth of all divorces occurring among people aged 50 and over. This is a major increase from previous decades since in 1990 that age group accounted for less than 10% of all breakups. And, more than half of current older divorcees have been married for over two decades. Clearly, if you are in this group you face different issues than younger people, who often have young children and custody issues that need addressing.
Now, many or most of your decisions are going to center around financial issues. Deciding whether to sell or who should stay in your primary house is a huge consideration, since there are no doubt emotional heartstrings that complicate the decision. You must divide retirement accounts, with careful consideration paid to what the Social Security implications of your split are. And if you have acquired assets such as vacation homes and valuable artwork, you are going to need to figure out how to divide those as well.
The above information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as legal advice.
