On behalf of Cooper & Tanis, P.C. posted in divorce on Wednesday, May 18, 2016.

While the rates of divorce have stabilized for most age groups, older couples at or over the age of 50 are divorcing more than they previously did. Within that group, the subset of people over the age of 65 are showing even higher divorce rates.

One journalist said that there are several reasons for this. One is that people are living longer, and they may decide they don’t want to spend that added time in an unhappy relationship. She also said that women are filing more frequently probably because they have their own financial resources instead of having to depend financially on their husbands.

People aged 50 or older were two times as likely to file for divorce in 2014 than their counterparts were in 1990. The even higher increase for those over age 65 may be because many of them are in their second marriages, dealing with blended families and other marital stressors. Some may simply have differing ideas from their spouses about what retirement should be. Others get divorced because of classic problems such as addiction or infidelity.

No matter the age, going through a divorce is difficult. While older couples are probably not going to have to be dealing with issues related to child support or custody, other matters that they are likely to face could be just as contentious. There could be retirement accounts that have to be split and that would need the preparation of a qualified domestic relations order. An older couple will often have other significant assets, the division of which could be addressed in a comprehensive settlement agreement negotiated with the assistance of their respective family law attorneys.