24th Aug 25 7:32 am
JamieMany married couples have happy, lasting relationships, even when there is a substantial age gap between them. However, when married couples with a significant age gap decide to divorce, this can result in notable financial and legal consequences, particularly if health and income disparity between the couple exists, potentially impacting retirement benefits and leading to other considerations such as the length of alimony obligations. Discover how to navigate divorce with a significant age difference, and find out how the knowledgeable Colorado family law attorneys from the Colorado Divorce Law Group can help couples whose marriages have broken down; call us today at (720) 593-6442 to schedule a confidential discussion.
A study conducted in 2014 revealed that, alongside various other factors, the age gap between a couple can influence whether a marriage may last or end in divorce. According to this study, couples with a one-year age gap had a 3% greater chance of divorcing compared to couples sharing the same age; by contrast, this study indicated that an age gap of five, ten, twenty, and thirty years could lead to an 18%, 39%, 95%, and 172% increased likelihood of divorce, respectively. Despite this, many married couples with an age gap have long-lasting marriages.
Gray divorce refers to the dissolution of a marriage between a couple aged 50 and older, often after many years of marriage. While younger couples may divorce due to reasons such as difficult relatives or incompatible parenting methods, older divorcees might end their marriages because of financial differences, infidelity, and grieving after their children grow up and move away. Rather than fighting over child custody, older couples may argue over retirement savings and pension plans, particularly as they might be close to retiring or retired already; at this stage of their lives, recovering from divorce’s financial impact can be more challenging.
Per AARP, the rate of divorce for couples aged 45 and older increased between 1990 and 2021 and tripled in this period for those aged 65 and over. Traditionally, older couples rarely divorced, but this has changed due to various factors, including society becoming more tolerant of divorce and women experiencing greater financial and emotional independence.
A significant age gap can impact a divorce settlement in several ways, such as in terms of spousal maintenance, asset division, and child custody. Below is an explanation of these factors.
Spousal support is typically a temporary arrangement whereby one spouse pays the other to allow them to continue their living standards prior to divorce until they can support themselves financially. However, in the event that a spouse has retired or is close to retiring, a spousal support order could last for longer, and may potentially be permanent. This is due to it being unreasonable for the retired/close to retiring spouse to acquire the training, education, or experience needed to increase their earning power at their age.
Understand more about navigating divorce with a significant age difference, and learn how the Colorado Divorce Law Group might assist individuals who are considering ending their marriage. Contact our firm today to arrange an initial case review with a seasoned Colorado family law attorney.
If the couple has children together and a substantial age gap between the spouses exists, a court may decide that it is more appropriate for the younger spouse to be the custodial parent, particularly if the older spouse has health concerns and is less physically able than the other to raise the children. That said, a family court considers multiple factors when determining child custody, so this may not always be the case.
An age gap among the spouses can also affect asset division decisions in a divorce. For instance, age can determine which party obtains the marital home. This is particularly relevant in a divorce where the older spouse may find it challenging to move to a new residence or if a doctor has advised them to keep their current residence due to medical reasons (for example, the current home may have undergone accessibility adaptations because of a spouse’s reduced mobility, such as installing a stairlift and/or guard rails and widening doorways, whereas a new residence may not have such amenities available).
When a couple with a substantial age gap decides to divorce, it is likely that the spouses have assets with potentially significant value, such as retirement benefits, Social Security, and pensions. Regarding retirement benefits, the closer to retirement the spouses are, the more impactful these assets are; this is due to the lack of time required to save for additional retirement benefits. Worth noting is that Social Security permits former spouses to claim the benefits of a divorced spouse provided the duration of the marriage exceeds a decade, and in addition, whether a spouse receives spousal support payments could impact their ability to obtain a proportion of the other party’s Social Security benefits.
Retirement plans, as well as independent and employer-provided pensions, can be confusing and challenging to divide between the spouses. If splitting a retirement plan is necessary during divorce proceedings, the parties might consider whether this involves collecting a one-off payment to invest elsewhere or risk each spouse only receiving the lifetime benefits of the other spouse.
Age gaps may strengthen relationships, but they might also increase divorce risks due to several factors. These include financial disparities, arising from the parties being at different career stages leading to current income and earning potential differences, which can impact asset division and spousal support issues during divorce proceedings, and power imbalances from one partner having greater life experience than the other. To learn more about navigating divorce with a significant age difference, and get help with your divorce queries, contact an experienced Colorado family lawyer from the Colorado Divorce Law Group today by calling (720) 593-6442.
