North Carolina millennials who are walking down the aisle for the first time may have heard that an estimated half of all marriages end in divorce today. In reality, the divorce rate is dropping for younger generations, but increasing for their parents and grandparents.
Young people are waiting until they are older to tie the knot and are more selective in choosing their mate. For example, the average age for brides for several decades beginning in the 1940s was 20 years old. Today the typical bride is 27 years old. Meanwhile, the divorce rate for people of the age of 55 to 64 years old roughly doubled between 1990 and 2012, and it tripled for those 65 years old or over.
Whatever the couple’s ages are, they could still have problems when they decide to divorce, though the nature of them may differ between age groups. Younger couples may be dealing with child custody, support and visitation. Older couples likely will have acquired more marital assets over the years, and these will need to be divided up. A prenuptial or post-nuptial agreement can help in doing this.
No matter how old the couple is, the end of a marriage can be a stressful and emotional time. If the estranged spouses are able to communicate with each other, their respective family attorneys can often be of assistance in negotiating a comprehensive settlement agreement that addresses the applicable legal issues. When one or more disagreements remain and are unable to be negotiated, the spouses’ attorneys might recommend mediation as a solution that can often be quicker and less expensive than litigation.