Most people in New Jersey know someone who has gotten divorced at least once in their life. A good number of these people have been divorced at a later stage in life, passed the age of 50. In fact, according to The Pew Research Center, the number of people divorcing at this point in life has doubled since 1990. The impact of a divorce at this age may well be different than the impact of a divorce at a younger age.
As explained by MarketWatch, people in their 50s or 60s have far less time left to work and to make up the financial losses they experience when getting divorced. In addition to losing assets in a property division settlement, spouses of this age may also have just paid or are still paying for their kids’ college educations. Providing care for aging parents may also be a financial burden for people in their 50s and 60s.
Another important point to note in looking at the rate of gray divorce is that a large number of these marital splits happen in second, third or subsequent marriages. Psychology Today notes that people in the baby boom generation in general were not averse to getting divorced when they were younger so now they find themselves in remarriages. These remarriages have a higher divorce rate than their first marriage counterparts.
Spouses who will be getting divorced after the age of 50 may want to make financial planning a priority as they embark on their newly single futures.