As a general rule, divorce is becoming less common. Most age brackets have seen a reduction in divorce rates over the last few decades. It is true that there was, at one point, a significant rise in divorce rates, closely correlating to the switch to no-fault divorce laws, but that rise is long since over. For most people, they are always less likely to get divorced than they were before.
However, that is not true for one specific age bracket: Those over 50 years of age. This includes Baby Boomers. Often, this type of divorce is referred to as gray divorce. This category alone has seen increasing divorce rates over the years.
Why does this happen?
There are a lot of different factors to consider here. One is remarriage. Studies have found that second marriages end more frequently than first marriages. Many people who are in this age group may simply be ending a second marriage, contributing to the higher divorce rates, whereas younger individuals simply haven’t lived long enough to find themselves in the same position.
It’s also worth considering when these individuals may have wanted to get a divorce. There used to be far more of a negative social stigma around divorce than there is today. Is it possible that some older individuals would have wanted to get divorced but held off because of the stigma, but now they are willing to get divorced because they see how things have changed?
Regardless of the reason, getting divorced at this age can raise a lot of financial questions, so you need to know about the options you have.