Gray divorce is the name for people who get divorced at age 50 or older. It has become a very common group in the divorce category, doubling in size since 1990. The rate of divorce in 1990 for couples with at least one person age 50 or older was just one in every 10. Within a decade that number increased to one in every four. Women are being forced to make financial changes later in life in New York when divorcing.
A survey was conducted by UBS that involved 600 women who, within the last five years, have gotten divorced or become widowed. The survey also included 1,500 couples. The people who took part in the survey were required to have at least $250,000 in assets that can be invested. There was a big difference between attitudes of women who were recently divorced/widowed and those who are still married.
- Eighty-five percent of women still married who did not play an active role in long-term financial decisions claimed that their spouses knew more about finances than they did.
- Fifty-nine percent of widows/divorcees claimed that they suffered regret for not playing a role in making long-term financial decisions during their marriage.
- Eighty percent of women claimed that they were happy with the current split of financial responsibilities within their marriage.
Of the women in the divorced/widowed category who remarried, eight out of every 10 said they have taken on more of a responsibility in the finances of the new marriage.
Are you going through a gray divorce in Oneida? Do you think your marriage is headed for a divorce? It’s best to examine your entire situation and know exactly what your finances will be once the divorce is finalized.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Rise of ‘gray’ divorce is forcing a financial reckoning after 50,” April 22, 2018