I have written on more than one occasion about “Silver Divorce”: the rise of divorce amongst couples in their 50s and 60s.
For this group, the stigma of divorce has more or less gone. People have greater longevity, financial security and often view retirement as a new beginning, rather than an end. In certain cases, people suffer from boredom with their spouse and decide that they don’t want to spend another 20 years with them after all.
At Stowe Family Law, the rise of Silver Divorce cases hasn’t been dramatic, but it has been noticeable. Ten years ago, we saw hardly any clients from this age group.
The fall-out from divorce affects all ages. To my mind, Silver Divorce is particularly sad for the spouse left behind, who may have been looking forward to a shared retirement.
A young journalist called Lisa Blake contacted me to ask why the number of over-60s divorcing has risen from less than 9,000 in 2006, to more than 14,000 in 2009. Her feature, Until divorce do us part? appears in the latest issue of the Cardiff School of Journalism’s re:new magazine.
[…] Stowe presents a sad but important-to-know set of statistics in Silver Divorce: until divorce do us part? at the Marilyn Stowe Family Law and Divorce Blog. The most important thing I learned from […]
I’m with you. It’s so sad, after investing so much time together, to not be able to work together in what, due to health issues, could certainly be a more difficult season of life. Definitely good food for thought for all of us in the hate-to-admit-to-aging Baby Boomers Generation! Thanks for including this article in the Boomer and Senior: News You Can Use blog carnival at SandwichINK.