Posted on December 28, 2021 in Divorce

While divorce can be difficult at any age, if you are over the age of 50, you may experience some unique issues as you end a long-term marriage and determine how to move forward with your life. Starting over later in life will require you to make a number of major changes that may affect your living situation, your finances, and your relationships with friends and family members. As you establish a new life for yourself following a gray divorce, you may feel that you are ready to begin looking for a new partner, or you may want to explore short-term or casual relationships. When exploring your opportunities for dating after divorce, you will want to keep the following tips in mind:

• Be sure you are ready - Before jumping into the dating world, you will want to make sure you really want to take this step. If you are feeling lonely, or if you are unsatisfied with your post-divorce life, you may want to work on yourself first and find ways to be happy on your own before beginning a new relationship. By focusing on maintaining your health and doing things you enjoy, you can build a positive life for yourself, and this will help you be a better partner when you do choose to begin dating again.

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 Posted on December 21, 2021 in Divorce

While divorce can be a complex and difficult matter for any couple, spouses who are over the age of 50 may experience some unique challenges when they choose to end their marriage. Throughout a lengthy relationship, a couple is likely to acquire multiple forms of property, and they may disagree about how these assets should be divided. In many cases, a couple’s family home will be one of their most valuable assets, and both spouses may have emotional attachments to the home. This can lead to contentious disputes about homeownership. During a gray divorce, spouses will need to understand their rights toward their home and other property, the options for addressing ownership of their assets, and the issues that may arise as they work to dissolve their marriage.

Dividing the Marital Home During a Gray Divorce

If an older couple has been married for many years, they may own significant equity in their family home. Since marital assets will include any property acquired during a couple’s marriage, this equity will be considered marital property, even if only one spouse’s name is on the home’s title. All marital assets will need to be divided between the spouses, and each party must receive a fair and equitable share of the marital estate. 

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 Posted on November 30, 2021 in Divorce

While divorce at any age can put a person in a difficult financial position, those who get divorced while over the age of 50 may be especially concerned about their ability to support themselves. In cases where a spouse did not work during their marriage, they may be unsure about whether they will be able to get a job this late in life that will allow them to earn enough income to provide for their needs. If one spouse earned the majority of a couple’s income, the other spouse may have relied on them to cover ongoing expenses, and they may worry that they will not be able to support themselves on their own. Spouses who have already retired or who are approaching retirement age may also be worried about whether they will be able to receive the necessary benefits to cover their ongoing expenses. Depending on a couple’s circumstances, spousal support may be awarded to ensure that a spouse with limited financial resources will be able to meet their needs.

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 Posted on November 17, 2021 in Divorce

In recent years, the rates of divorce for spouses over the age of 50 have increased significantly. These cases, which are often referred to as “gray divorces,” may occur for a number of reasons, including increased levels of financial independence for women, couples choosing to delay breakups until children are grown, or changes in spouses’ priorities and goals over the course of years of marriage. Older spouses who are planning to get divorced will need to consider a number of financial issues, including how their choice to end their marriage will affect their plans for retirement.

Divorce Before Retirement

Plans for retirement are an important consideration throughout a person’s career. In many cases, a person will save money in a retirement account such as a 401(k) or IRA with the expectation that they will be able to use this money to support themselves when they are no longer working. A person may also work in a pension-eligible position, and after they retire, they will be able to receive ongoing pension payments. However, a divorce when a person is nearing retirement may affect the money saved in retirement accounts or the pension benefits a person will receive, and they may need to adjust their plans for retirement accordingly.

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 Posted on October 29, 2021 in Divorce

While divorce can be difficult at any age, a person who is over the age of 50 may face some unique issues when they end their marriage. If you are considering a gray divorce, financial issues are likely to be some of your key concerns. You will want to make sure you will have the resources you will need to support yourself, including after your retirement. One issue that you will want to be aware of is whether you can qualify for Social Security benefits based on the amount that your ex-spouse will be able to receive after retiring.

Social Security for Divorced Spouses

The amount a person can receive through Social Security is based on their work history. If you do not have a significant work history, or if your ex-spouse earned the majority of your family’s income during your marriage, the amount of benefits you can receive based on your own work history may be limited. However, you may be able to receive benefits based on the amount that your ex-spouse will receive upon retirement.

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 Posted on October 18, 2021 in Divorce

Married couples who are over the age of 50 are likely to have been together for a long period of time. After building what was expected to be a life-long relationship, raising children together, and acting as partners to help each other navigate the ups and downs of life, infidelity by one spouse can seem like an incredible betrayal. This issue may be the cause of a gray divorce, and as spouses proceed through the process of dissolving their marriage, they will want to determine the role that a spouse’s infidelity will play in the legal proceedings.

Divorce-Related Issues That May Be Affected by Infidelity

Due to the strong emotions related to infidelity and the fact that it may have been a primary reason for the breakdown of a couple’s relationship, spouses may expect that it will be an issue to be addressed during the divorce process. However, most divorce-related decisions will not focus on why a marriage is ending, but will instead address how matters will be handled as the couple dissolves their legal partnership and moves forward with their lives. Infidelity usually will only play a role in the legal process of divorce in a few specific situations:

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 Posted on September 22, 2021 in Divorce

There are many reasons why spouses may choose to get divorced, even after being married for many years, raising a family together, and building a life as partners. In some cases, long-held conflicts and resentments can surface after a couple’s children grow up and leave home, while in others, a couple may simply grow apart and find that they are no longer happy in their marriage. In a divorce over the age of 50, a couple may need to address many types of complex issues, and in many cases, mediation offers the best option for resolving disputes and ensuring that both spouses can move forward with their lives successfully.

Benefits of Mediation in a Gray Divorce

During a divorce, a couple will need to address a variety of legal issues as they determine how to separate their lives, their property, and their finances. Going to court to resolve these issues can take a great deal of time, and it can be very expensive, especially if a couple becomes involved in contentious disputes over issues such as the division of assets or spousal support. Mediation offers an alternative way to resolve these disputes by having the spouses work together with a neutral mediator to create a divorce settlement that they can both agree on.

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 Posted on September 16, 2021 in Divorce

The term “gray divorce” has been used to describe the increasingly frequent divorce cases involving individuals in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. Older couples divorce for countless reasons. Some gray divorces are simply formalizing the end of a marriage that has been struggling for many years. Other times, an individual files for divorce after finding out that the other spouse was having an affair. Substance abuse or addiction can also devastate a marriage.

If you are divorcing and your spouse has misused, wasted, or destroyed funds or property, you may have a valid claim of “dissipation of assets.” You may be entitled to a proportionally larger share of the marital estate during the division of marital assets.

Wasting Assets Near the End of the Marriage

When a spouse misuses or squanders a substantial amount of property before property can be divided in a divorce, Illinois law offers a remedy through a dissipation of assets claim. “Dissipation” refers to using money or property that belongs to the marital estate for a purpose not benefiting the marriage while the marriage is experiencing a “breakdown.” In other words, dissipation is squandering money or property while the marriage is nearing its end.

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 Posted on August 17, 2021 in Divorce

People over the age of 50 make up a large percentage of the population in the United States, and this demographic is continuing to grow as Baby Boomers get older and retire. As this part of the population increases, it makes sense that the rates of divorce for people over 50 are also increasing. By understanding some of the common reasons for these “gray divorces,” spouses can be aware of issues that may indicate that their marriage is in trouble, or they may decide that divorce is the best option to ensure that they can be as happy as possible throughout the rest of their lives.

Reasons Older Couples Choose to Get Divorced

• Infidelity - Cheating can take place in any marriage, but for those who have been married for a longer amount of time, there is more opportunity for spouses to wander. This can especially be true for those who are unsatisfied with their marriage or who have experienced relationship problems. In many cases, infidelity is the “final straw” that leads couples to decide to end their marriage.

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 Posted on August 05, 2021 in Divorce

In many cases, divorce for those who are 50 or older can lead to financial difficulties. When a couple has been together for many years or multiple decades, shifting to living separately can be a huge adjustment. While it can be difficult enough for a spouse to cover their expenses on a single income, some issues, such as gambling debts, can lead to additional financial problems. In these situations, a spouse will need to understand the role that gambling debts incurred by their former partner will play in their divorce.

Gambling Debts and Asset Dissipation

Typically, debts incurred by married spouses are considered to be marital debts, and the spouses will be jointly responsible for repaying the amounts owed. However, gambling debts may be approached differently, especially if one spouse acted without the other spouse’s knowledge when incurring these debts. In these cases, the use of marital funds for gambling purposes may be considered asset dissipation.

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