Most Arizona residents who marry do so with the belief that they will not end up divorcing. Unfortunately, many marriages end in divorce. A recent study looked at divorce statistics in 2013 as compared to 1960 and 1980.
Business Insider reviewed data from the Minnesota Population Center’s Integrated Public Microdata Sample project regarding the percentages of people who had been divorced by their ages. They found that 12 percent of 30-year-old people had already been divorced at least once in 2013. By the time people reached the age of 59, roughly 42 percent had had at least one marriage end in divorce, while 43 percent of 59-year-olds were still in their first marriages.
The researchers then looked at divorce rates in 1960 and 1980. In those years, a greater percentage of 20-somethings had been divorced. More of them were in their second or subsequent marriages by that age than in 2013. However, fewer people aged 40 and older were divorced or in subsequent marriages in 1960 and 1980 as compared to 2013.
The study demonstrates that an increasing number of older people are getting divorced as compared to earlier generations. People who divorce when they are older are more likely to have complex divorce cases. Many middle-aged people have accumulated significant assets, retirement accounts, businesses, real estate and more. Determining how to divide the property in the divorce can be complicated. If one spouse has stayed home while the other worked, spousal support may also be at issue for older couples who divorce.
Judges consider multiple factors when deciding whether to order spousal support. Some of the considerations include the likelihood that the person will be able to get training sufficient to enter the workforce, the length of the marriage and the incomes of each spouse. People may want to get advice from a family law attorney about property division and spousal support in their divorce cases.