The news that Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger were splitting seems to have many people left reeling over the news. They decided to split after 25 years of marriage. This may seem alarming to many but the numbers of divorce among the baby boomers is growing.
The divorce rate of the boomers has skyrocketed and divorce attorneys believe the numbers will continue to rise. In the past few years we saw the demise of the Tipper and Al gore nuptials after 40 years of marriage.
There are a number of reasons attributed to the increasing number of boomer divorces. According to the Pew Research Center, 66 percent of older couples felt it was better to leave an unhappy marriage, in contrast only 54 percent of their offspring agreed that personal happiness was a legitimate reason to leave their spouse. In fact an AARP study found that divorce rates are decreasing among all ages except for seniors.
After children leave, the older couple may find they no longer have common ground since their lives were devoted to raising their offspring. Women have made gains in their need and ability to be independent, and are finding they don’t truly need their husbands for support.
No matter how unfulfilled a marriage may be the divorcing couple will still have issues to deal with in dissolution. Even though matters of custody generally aren’t issues for senior, there are property and asset divisions for the couple and their divorce lawyers to deal handle. The boomers are going to keep the nation’s divorce attorneys busy over the next decade.
