November 13th, 2011
How often do we hear those infamous words from a long time married family or friends! “We are getting divorced!” Baby Boomers always the trendsetters are now seriously hitting the Divorce trail in growing numbers. The National Center of Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University notes that the divorce rate for people over 50 has doubled in the last 20 years and feel this is an upward trend, despite the fact that overall divorce rates have declined. In fact baby boomers now account for roughly one in four divorces today in the United States.
Why are Baby Boomers now deciding to forgo “Married Life” for unknown futures? According to a 2009 Pew Research survey, when it comes to divorce Baby Boomers are less conservative than younger generations: 66% say divorce is preferable to staying in an unhappy marriage compared with 44% of younger adults.
With many boomers the kids have often left home and these “Empty Nesters “want a material change in their lives. This group also has a net worth 47 times that of young adults so money is not necessarily a significant impediment. Communication issues are frequently mentioned in a boomer divorce and many times infidelity is the catalyst leading to a final breakdown of the marriage, creating a reason to move on to a new relationship?
Baby Boomers usually have the economic feasibility to make a divorce a reachable solution. Recently job losses and strained finances have become a major problem in some boomer marriages causing extreme stress leading to a divorce. The older Baby Boomers will impact the divorce rate which will then continue a peak and then fall sharply.
In any divorce there are always two divorces, the legal and emotional divorce, in boomer divorces financial considerations are pronounced. Aside from the loss of a spouse, a child or a parent to death, it has been said that Divorce is the most egregious, emotionally debilitating experience a man or woman may have in a lifetime. The grief to each spouse is very real, personal, and frequently irrevocable in causing emotional and financial scarring.
Concurrent with the emotional roller-coaster, a boomer couple has to determine where long term assets will end up and almost emotionally detach themselves from these assets and accept the reality of a lowered standard of living. Many boomers realize they may never marry again and there financial situation will dictate their final retirement package and needs. Often men feel they have worked a lifetime and are losing everything and many women cannot imagine life without their current assets.
Could this be why children and grandchildren of baby boomers are waiting to marry? Since 1979 the average age of Grooms has risen from 24 to 28 and from 22 to 26 for Brides. Nobody wants to inherit what turned out to be a perceived troubling trait of an older generation and many children of divorce look like they are trying to change the trend for the better.
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May 13th, 2011
This year the Baby Boomer Generation is turning 65 and is redefining: “What is Old” as “We are the Upper Middle Age and Damn Proud of it! ” This proud group of 50’s and 60’s born babies have never stood still in the past and are not about to start doing so now!
Baby Boomers have always been an age group phenomenon associated with rejection of and redefinition of society‘s traditional values. Since most boomers in the United States grew up in a time of financial growth and affluence, they are considered the healthiest and wealthiest generation yet with control of over 80% of all personal financial assets and over 50% of all discretionary spending dollars. As Boomers grow older they expect the world to improve for the better and will seek changes in society’s traditional values to meet demand for change as they did in their youth.
One coming change will involve family relationships in the context of marriage, divorce, and cohabitation. Boomers have always been known as the “Individual Freedom” generation. Boomers have redefined old age today as not beginning until age 72+ (2009 Pew Survey). Boomers are 70% more likely to believe that the main purpose of marriage is mutual happiness and fulfillment rather than primarily child rearing, and are ironically less accepting of same-sex couples raising children, unmarried couples living together, and other non- traditional arrangements (2010 Pew Survey).
With longer life spans and growing acceptability of divorce, the Boomer divorce rate has tripled over their parent’s generation. Sixty-Six percent say divorce is preferable to an unhappy marriage (2010 Pew Survey) and an AARP study of boomers found that two-thirds (2/3) of divorces were initiated by the woman to the surprise of her male partner. A study by the Office of National Statistics indicates the US divorce rate has dropped, except in the 60+ age group. Times are “still a changing”, and yet the 2010 Decline of Marriage Pew Survey indicates 76% of all Baby Boomers today feel their family is “the most important element of their lives!”
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August 3rd, 2010
Baby Boomers are increasingly deciding to enter into prenuptial agreements prior to marriage to protect and manage their assets should they part ways through divorce.
What is a Prenuptial Agreement? It is a legal document that establishes in advance how property, assets acquired or received by gift during a marriage and family heirlooms passed from family members to one of the parties will be owned or divided in the event the couple should part ways.
Prenuptial Agreements have become very popular with Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964) since they have on the average accumulated more money and assets and can afford to pay for adequate protection. Since 2006, 80% of Family Law Attorneys have seen a marked increase in couples who sign prenups, according to a survey sponsored by the Matrimonial Lawyers Group.
In the current financial crisis, with a 31% drop in home values and a 53% drop in stock portfolios, Boomers have been hit the hardest, which has accelerated the trend. Boomers have therefore become more cautious in holding on to their remaining current assets. Boomers are also blending homes and corresponding obligations. Prenups are becoming the Estate Planning Tool of the future!
Given Boomer age ranges, they are more likely to have been married and divorced multiple times. 4 out of 10 Boomers have experienced a divorce and by their 50th birthday, 27% have moved on to a second or third marriage.
So When Should Boomer Couples Consider Having A Prenup?
1. When significant assets are involved such as a home & property, retirement funds, stocks and bonds, or liquid assets.
2. When there are children of a previous marriage. The children’s interest, past and future, need protection since most states by law give the surviving spouse up to half of the estate.
3. When one spouse owns all or part of a business.
4. When one spouse is much wealthier than the other spouse.
5. When one spouse is much older than the other spouse.
6. When one spouse is supporting the other while he or she attain an educational degree.
7. When there is an inheritance involved.
When both spouses feel that the possibility of a divorce and expenses related to it are a bad idea and wish for a premarital binding understanding, what should they do?
1. Hire a qualified lawyer to prepare a fair and binding agreement according to their wishes and needs.
2. Make full disclosure of all property, financial accounts, debts, and assets involved.
3. Comply with requisite state laws.
If one acknowledges that nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, a prenuptial agreement can avoid a number of unnecessary expenses, reduce attorney fees, and avoid state mandated arbitrary divisions.
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