Many groups in the United States have experienced a drop in divorce rates; however, the opposite is true for older Americans. According to the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people divorcing after the age of 50 (known as gray divorce) has just about doubled since 1990. Gray divorce has become increasingly more common for a few different reasons. For example, divorce has lost much of the stigma it carried years ago, and people are living longer and not willing to stay in unfulfilling marriages.
Gray divorces often include a variety of unique financial considerations and legal issues that may not have the same importance for other divorcing couples. Some people may worry that they will not have enough money to retire when they originally planned to. Other people may be concerned with what happens to the assets that they have accumulated throughout their years of marriage. Understanding these issues and how to deal with them is the key to a successful gray divorce.
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