Older Arizonans divorce in significantly greater numbers than their same-aged peers in 1990 did. For people who are ages 50 and older, the rate has doubled since 1990, and for those ages 65 and older, the rate has tripled.
In 2015, 10 people of the age of 50 and older divorced for every 1,000 who were married. In 1990, 5 people in that age group divorced for every 1,000 married people. The divorce rate for older people has remained stable since 2008. Experts attribute the sharp increase in divorces for older people since 1990 to the aging baby boomers.
The baby boomers divorced in higher numbers when they were younger as well. People who get remarried are also likelier to divorce because second or subsequent marriages are less likely to be stable. The rates of divorce for people ages 40 to 49 have also increased slightly since 1990. For that age group, 21 divorced in 2015 per 1,000 people. In 1990, the rate for the 40 to 49 age group was 18 for every 1,000 people. The rate of divorce for people who are ages 25 to 39 has decreased since 1990, however. In 2015, 24 divorced for every 1,000 people while 30 of them did per 1,000 people in 1990.
Because older people have had more time to accumulate property, the asset division portion of their divorces may be more complicated than it is for younger people. Family law attorneys might help their clients with untangling their finances and determining the value of their assets. They may then advise their clients about the potential tax consequences of accepting different asset classes in their divorces. Attorneys may work to negotiate property settlement agreements that might preserve the ability of their clients to retire on time.