The “gray
divorce,” as the elderly couples’ divorce is often called, is a
particularly topical issue for Florida. It is one state with the highest median
age of the population and at the same time, with an extremely high divorce rate.

For example, Miami
and Tampa Bay are among the top ten of all the cities in the United States with
the highest divorce rates, and another 11 cities in Florida are among the top
50.

At the same time,
as the study by OnlineDivorce.com in Florida says, today, one out of
every three spouses divorcing
in Florida is over 50.

So, the Florida
trend of gray divorce is apparent. Sociologies explain it by the massive influx
of people from other states who move here, especially after their retirement.

The mild climate and
relaxing atmosphere of Florida attract many people. Since modern older people
are much more active and mobile than their peers in the last century, many of
them admit that they are happy to engage in such adventures as moving to
another state. At the same time, wisdom and life experience suggest that time
is too fleeting, and you need to appreciate every second. After many years of
hard work and routine, many people ask themselves: Am I happy? Have I lived as
I wanted to? Where do I really want to be? Unfortunately, for some, the answer
is breaking a long-term marital union. Although… The other side of the coin
is that the rate of remarriage in older age is also high in Florida.

Anyway, divorce is
a critical decision that (no matter how old you are) has its own difficulties
and pitfalls and requires careful consideration.

So what should you
pay attention to before you file for a divorce in Florida at your 50+?

• Legal Separation As
  a Compromise

Legal separation is a
way to split the property, marital rights, and liabilities but without actual
marriage dissolution. It can be understood as a compromise between marriage and
divorce that allows keeping some marital benefits still.

For instance, they
do not distribute the retirement payments in a legal separation, and that is
one reason why legal separation is so popular among the senior couples. Most
often, the right to remarry matters less for them than their current health insurance
benefits, retirement payments, or military spouse benefits. Besides, the
divorce proceeding can turn out to be more lengthy, costly, and stressful than
a legal separation procedure when it comes to long-time marriage.

However, unlike
most other US states, Florida does not recognize a legal separation. Therefore,
the spouses who are just going to move to Florida are typically advised to
consider this type of arrangement in advance. Please remember that you have to
file for divorce in the state where you currently live and meet the residency
requirements, not where the marriage happened.

When applying for a
divorce after a long-term marriage, it is worth considering state regulations
on alimony. Young couples have alimony agreements in rare cases, and they
mainly involve temporary rehabilitative payments. Yet after long-term
marriages, the spouse can apply for durational alimony. So in Florida, the
court can award durational alimony which term may be equal to the length of the
marriage itself. Worth knowing!

For a spouse who is
ordered to pay spousal support, the financial
burden does not end there. In a Florida divorce, the party who pays alimony
must have life insurance equal to the terms and duration of the maintenance
agreed upon in the divorce order.

Accordingly, the
older the person and the longer the marriage, the greater the life insurance
premium that must be paid each year.

• Support of Elderly Parents

Married couples in
their 50-60s have elderly parents, whom they financially support. There is no
such type of alimony that would apply to the spouse’s parents, so in some
cases, the divorcees may face significant expenses that previously were covered
by the other spouse.

You should be
ready, that in a gray divorce, they may require you to decide on some
unpleasant and long-term considerations. For example, the divorcees should
update the estate plan and the will during and after the divorce. Such issues,
like dealing with long-term care or preparing for last wishes, must also be
regulated and arranged in advanced following your own preferences and
opportunities.

Related