Spike in Divorce Rate for Baby Boomers

 Posted on December 12, 2012 in Family Law

It’s generally accepted that the divorce rate has steadily increased as a result of a more loose society, one in which young people cohabitate more often before marriage, and one that has turned away from the traditional core values of American society. Yet the world for which the Baby Boomer generation purports to long, could actually be undermined by the Boomers themselves, according to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune. According to a National Center for Family and Marriage Research study coming from Bowling Green State University, “boomers account for more than 25 percent of divorces” today. In 1990, according to the Tribune. “fewer than 10 percent of divorces included spouses age 50 or older.”

This makes sense, according to many sociologists, and couples in their mid-to-late lives shouldn’t shy away from divorce because of the fear to grow old alone. Justin Buzzard, author of a newly released book entitled Date Your Wife, told the Tribune that “baby boomer marriages have been on cruise control.” This is due to a myriad of reasons, but most commonly because marriages have been neglected in favor of life. Once the kids leave, Buzzard said, the husband and wife tend to look at each other and say, “I’m not in love with you. I barely know you.”

New York-based relationship counselor Rachel Sussman agrees. She said that most likely, “discord has been long simmering in most cases.” Divorce for the baby boomers isn’t an “aha” moment; it’s usually a result of many, many years of a dysfunctional marriage that neither party can withstand anymore. And in today’s loose, cohabiting world that has drifted far from the social patterns of the American 1950s, divorce is much more accepted than it used to be, meaning that even those born in a different time can see the benefits of divorce as well as the difficulties.

Regardless of how much more common it is, divorce is still a complicated, arduous process that can’t be gone through alone. If you or someone you know is considering divorce, contact an experienced Illinois divorce attorney today.

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