Late-in-Life Divorces on the Rise

The divorce rate has doubled over the past two decades for Americans ages 50 and older. Many of these divorcés file for divorce after their children have grown and left the nest. Some statistics on these late-in-life divorces and those who file for them are below:

• One in ten divorcés was 50 or older in 1990, compared to one in four in 2009
• Sixty-six percent of the time, women seek a late-in-life divorce
• Infidelity was the listed cause of only 27% of late-in-life divorces in 2004
• Over 600,000 individuals ages 50 or older divorced in 2009
• For those ages 50 to 64, having been married before doubles the risk of divorce
• For those over age 65, having been married before quadruples the risk of divorce
• Divorcing fathers are more likely to experience a decline in contact with at least one child
• Divorcing mothers tend to become closer with their children
• Eighty percent of divorcés ages 40-70 consider themselves to be a five or above on a happiness scale from 1 to 10.
• Fifty-six percent of divorcés ages 40-70 consider themselves an 8-10 on a happiness scale from 1 to 10

See Susan Gregory Thomas, The Gray Divorcés, The Wall Street Journal, Mar. 3, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.