Over the past 20 years, there has been a marked and steady rise in the number of older people who seek to get divorced – “grey divorce”. The trend continues in 2018 and here we examine the reasons for this and what those concerned can do to help them cope with the prospect effectively.

Why grey divorce is on the rise

There are several reasons why grey divorce is on the rise. In the first instance, grey divorce is now deemed acceptable by society and has little or no stigma attached to it. In days gone by, it was the case that many married couples who were experiencing difficulties would enter into an “Irish” divorce and this meant separating but not going through with the legal proceeding.

Life expectancy is also playing a role in the rise of the grey divorce. People are living longer, which means couples can be together longer and thus statistically more likely to end up parting company.

The third main reason why grey divorce is on the rise is that subsequent marriages, that is to say a second or third marriage tends not to last as long and to end up in divorce.

Here is a look at the statistics:

“In England and Wales, divorce is in decline – our most recent 10 years of data show a 28% fall in the number of divorces between 2005 and 2015. But older people are bucking the trend. In the same period, the number of men divorcing aged 65 and over went up by 23% and the number of women of the same age divorcing increased by 38%.” Office of National Statistics

How to cope

What may act as some kind of comfort for those who are experiencing grey divorce is that there is now more support and advice around than ever before to help them cope with the procedure. For instance, legal experts like Withers Worldwide offer a range of services such as legal mediation or help navigating complex cases that may involve post-nuptial agreements or factors such as overseas trusts.

Other forms of support come in the form of forums or services like the ones offered by divorce support groups. Talking through the experience and the surrounding factors is one of the best ways of coping with the related stresses, strains and processes. This coupled with a healthy lifestyle and plenty of rest will help those going through a grey divorce to understand what is happening and how to deal with it.