Divorce Lawyer: Understand Your Older Clients

A recent study found that more people are ending their marriages later in life. This means that it is important for a divorce lawyer to understand why these clients are getting separated in order to best serve their needs.

It should not be a surprise that older couples wish to end their marriages, as it is normal to grow apart after decades of marriage. In fact, it can be easier to separate from your spouse later in life than earlier. (This is not to suggest that you should stay in an unhappy marriage waiting for a time in which ending it will simpler.) It is the case, however, that often separating after long periods of being together is not as complicated as it would be for a younger couple.

Older couples often have more money than their younger counterparts. This means that it is easier for them to support two separate households. Often, after decades of marriage, the parties have even been able to accumulate a weekend home or rental property.

This all means that it will be more likely that an equitable property division can be accomplished without having to sell property.

With the children over eighteen, there should be no need to worry about child custody or child support. Such determinations of visitation and support can be the most contentious issues that a divorce lawyer has to face. It also means that there are no longer the enormous expenses associated with children, and you do not have to risk your children’s standard of living possibly decline because of the breakup of the marriage.

With both parties retired and with decreased incomes, this should remove the issue of interim or final spousal support. When one of the parties has the means and the other has the need to pay spousal support to the other party, each party will have their divorce lawyer fight very hard over the amount of support that needs to be paid. Even though the payments are usually not that much, just the thought of paying or receiving them can lead to a huge court fight with doctors and other experts testifying as to whether a party is able to work.

Dividing the retirement will, however, likely be contentious. Sometime the retirement is the sole source of income, and having to split it would make supporting oneself much more difficult. For couples that do not have other income, having to pay their divorce lawyer and maintain their standard of living should be difficult. For wealthier couples, the retirement money likely would be far less of a issue in deciding whether to separate.

It is common to think that after a couple is able to make it past child rearing that the difficulty and large expenses associated with marriage are largely over, that marriage would just grow stronger. But then again, with many of the legal issues surrounding separation diminished, it is understandable that as people grow apart that they no longer wish to be together.

The above material is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended as professional legal advice and should not be construed as such. Attorney William H. Beaumont practices in New Orleans, La.