If you are one of the many people over the age of 50 who lives in Ohio and is planning to get divorced or maybe even already in the midst of a divorce, you will want to educate yourself about the financial realities of ending your marriage at this stage of life. Breaking up a marriage and splitting assets is commonly a tough financial blow to couples regardless of their ages. However, the fact of the matter is that when a person has fewer years left to work, there is less time to recoup the losses they experience through a divorce.
As reported by Bloomberg, the phenomenon of a gray divorce may well be a contributor to poverty for people later on. Research looking at people who are at least 63 years of age found the rate of poverty is startlingly higher for those who have been divorced after the age of 50 and who have not remarried. Persons who remarried after a divorce regardless of age or who got married and never divorced had poverty rates just above 3%.
For women who divorced before 50, the poverty rate was 18.6% but was 26.9% for women who went through a gray divorce. Men who divorced early experienced a 10.7% poverty rate compared to 11.4% for men who divorced after 50.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give residents in Ohio some insight into the potential realities of getting divorced in their 50s or later so that they can use this information to guide them as they make important decisions during their divorce.