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Gray Divorce Research Paper

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As a whole, the divorce rate has declined in the last couple decades, but the rate for older divorces has increased. In fact, the rate more than doubled for people over the age of fifty between 1990 and 2010. The increasing number of Baby Boomers who are suddenly facing divorce after years of marriage has led to the coining of a new phrase, “gray divorce,” that references this phenomenon of our time. If you are seeking divorce, remember that divorce after age 50 comes with different complications than a divorce in your early 30’s or 40’s.

What is a Gray Divorce?

The term Gray Divorce refers to a divorce in which both parties involved are over age 50. As these types of divorces are becoming more and more common (due in large part to the significant percentage of the US population that is now falling into this age bracket), more information is coming to light as to what makes the gray divorce different from a divorce at a younger age.

The actual divorce process is the same no matter the age of the parties involved. The most noticeable difference is that coming to a settlement agreement can be much more challenging because both parties in a gray divorce typically place great importance on protecting themselves financially. They are focused, in large part, on …show more content…

Of those who do, a large majority will wait to do so until they are in a lower tax bracket when the penalty occurs. This is a strategy often recommended by financial advisers. Yet this advice doesn’t take into consideration the repercussions of going from a married filing status to a single filing status. Handling taxes during the senior years can be more of a juggling act than anything else – particularly if you are a single senior because you end up in a higher tax bracket even at the lower income level. Therefore it becomes important to formulate divorce orders in a way that can help minimize tax repercussions whenever

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