Divorce knows no boundaries when it comes to age. Couples of any age can encounter difficulties in their marital relationships that they feel would be best resolved by divorce. While divorcing couples as a group may face similar challenges, there are some issues that are especially relevant to marriages in which one or both of the spouses are fifty years of age or older.

For example, all divorcing couples must deal with the issue of property distribution. Regardless of a couple’s age, navigating the issue of who gets to keep the marital home can be complicated. Older adults are even more likely to younger adults to have developed a deep attachment to their home, and they may be reluctant to think about going to live anywhere else. However, owning a home is not without its responsibilities. If you are thinking about trying to keep your home, remember that the costs of home ownership will be yours to bear, along with the cost of maintaining your home and either paying someone to maintain it or doing things like mowing the lawn, repairing things that break, and shoveling the driveway and walkways yourself. It is also important to remember that the spouse who keeps the home will get fewer of the couple’s other assets, in order to compensate the spouse who is not going to keep the house for his or her share of the home’s value.

Other financial considerations for adults over the age of fifty who are considering divorce include retirement and alimony. Depending upon what your spouse does for work and whether they have any retirement funds of their own, you may have a few different options for addressing the issue of dividing up retirement funds. For example, if your spouse has a smaller retirement fund than you do, they may ask you to provide them with some of your retirement income, or they may ask you to give them other assets in exchange for being able to retain all of your retirement funds. You and your spouse’s past and present work history will also affect the issue of alimony. If your spouse has done little to no work outside of the home during your marriage, they are likely to be awarded long-term alimony because their post-divorce employment prospects are not the same as a spouse who is currently employed or who held a job during some of the marriage.

Older couples are less likely than younger couples to have to make plans for parenting time, because often, all of their children have reached adulthood. Despite the lack of a formal requirement to address the needs of their children, many divorcing couples with adult children do think about and plan for the continued roles of their adult children in their lives. If you and your spouse have talked about involving your children as caregivers for you as you age, it is important that you discuss whether and how your divorce will impact any plans that you have made. Of course, this will necessarily involve consulting with your children and involving them in the decision making process.

Texas Family Law Attorney Alex Tyra – Comprehensive Legal Support for Divorcing Texans

Divorce can happen at any age. Older adults face all of the challenges that other divorcing couples must grapple with, as well as some additional issues like alimony and the roles of their adult children in their lives. If you have questions about divorce, Texas Family Law Attorney Alex Tyra can help you. Call our office today, at (903) 753-7499.