Many people believe that the divorce rate in the United States is going up. After all, once no-fault divorce laws were introduced in the 1970s, the rate did jump significantly.
But is that still happening? It probably depends on your age bracket. For instance, studies find that couples who are under 45 years old have actually seen their divorce rate go down in recent years. For couples who are over 45, the divorce rate has been climbing, to some degree. For those who are 65 and older, the rate has been climbing dramatically.
How does this change divorce?
This can certainly have an effect on how the divorce process plays out. One potential change is that younger couples tend to deal with child custody issues. They need to split up physical and legal custody of their children, who are still minors at the time of the divorce. Someone who is in their 50s or 60s, on the other hand, may have children who are already grown up and moved out of the house, so child custody issues do not apply.
Additionally, younger couples tend to have fewer assets due to their age. Older couples may have far more assets to split up, including investments, retirement funds, retirement benefits, and ownership of significant assets like vehicles, real estate or businesses.
So there can be complications for couples in either age bracket, but they just differ a bit depending on exactly what the case looks like. If you are getting a divorce, be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take to navigate the process.