Silver Separations & Gray Divorces: Age Doesn't Matter
Silver Separations & Gray Divorces
A couple of new terms have recently emerged. The circumstances surrounding them have always been around, but now
they have labels.
Have you heard these terms used in your circle?
Silver Separation Gray Divorce
A gray divorce refers to a divorce between couples that have married for a good amount of time, usually twenty, thirty or even forty years and are generally Baby Boomers. A gray divorce usually starts with a silver separation. Statistics Canada is predicting an increase in this phenomenon much like the increase in divorce rates in other parts of the world.
According to Stats Can, the average of a couple jumped to 44 years of age but couples who are 75 years have been documented to file for divorce. Over 60-year-olds are ending their marriages at a higher rate nowadays. Actually, that age group has almost doubled in the last ten years.It seems that because we are living longer and are more healthy, the trend of gray divorce is rising among those that felt they “had” to stay married. It seems baby boomers are realizing that they can manage on their and have the financial means to do so in their sixties. If they have children, those kids are grown and gone or contributing to the household finances. If you’ve decided, at any age, your marriage needs to end, the lawyers at Grant Lee Law will gladly assist you.
The grounds for divorce are according to the Government of Canada at www.justice.gc.ca
You have been living apart for a year or longer.
Your spouse has been physically or mentally cruel to you.
Your spouse has committed adultery.
What you should do is ask a lawyer for legal advice. Know that Grant Lee Law will assist you. The staff and lawyers at Grant Lee Law will work to make to the process as seamless as possible. Hopefully as a couple, you have agreed on most issues so it will be just a matter of making the separation legal while waiting to apply for final divorce. If you can reach agreements on things like property and other financial issues, you can save money and time in the long run. It seems that the biggest issues with gray divorce are financial so a family law lawyer needs to be involved so that both parties are satisfied and can move forward. For instance, child support payments are probably not issue, but there might be payments for post-secondary education and/or spousal support that need to be addressed. Issues are different when a couple have been married for a few decades. Matters surrounding any property that is jointly owned also need to be considered. This doesn’t mean just property as is in homes and land but physical assets, shared debts, pensions, investments and life insurance. It’s easy to say that the other party can have the life insurance or whatever, but what happens to it needs to be added to the separation agreement. Have a think about all of the facets involved in your life.
Perhaps have a discussion with your lawyer what would happen to your property should you pass away. Your Will needs to updated also. Grant Lee Law will help you. Grant Lee Law can be reached by completing their online form.
