The reality of gray divorce in America

Have you been married for 20, 30 or even 40 years but all of a sudden may be contemplating a divorce? If so, you are not alone. Many other New Jersey residents have walked this path before you or are doing so now as well. In fact, there is even recent research that shows the immense growth of divorce among people at later stages of life across the nation.

Research that was conducted by sociologists at the Ohio-based Bowling Green State University took a look at divorce rates by people in different age brackets over a 20-year period of time. They saw a clear spike in the number of marriages with people in their 50s, 60s and even beyond that ended. In fact, by 2010 roughly 25 percent of all divorces occurred in marriages with spouses at least 50 years old.

According to Next Avenue, there can be many factors that contribute to the jump in the number of people divorcing in midlife and beyond. Among these could be the fact that once children are completely up and out of the house and retirement looms or happens spouses have just each other left. In marriages where less effort was given to the marriage itself and more to the children and the careers, this can be a difficult situation. All of a sudden, a spouse may seem boring or a new challenge is desired.

If you are interested in learning more about the factors that may be involved in a divorce, please feel free to visit the New Jersey marital dissolution page of our family law website.

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