Divorce Advice for over 55s, AKA the ‘Silver Splitters’

Getting a divorce at any stage of life is upsetting and complicated, but if you are over 55 years old when you get a divorce, the chances are you will face different complexities and challenges to people who get divorced younger.

No fault divorce came into force in England and Wales on 6 April 2022, which removed the need for couples to assign blame when ending the marriage.

By the time you are in your fifties, your children are probably grown up and may have left home and have families of their own. One or both of you may already be retired and you are probably still living in the family home where you raised your children. Your marriage has probably lasted for more than 30 years and this means that the financial aspects of your divorce are going to be complex.

In any divorce, the financial settlement is separate from the divorce itself. The main challenges you'll face will be about:

• any property you own
• your pension
• maintenance payments

In England and Wales, there is now a requirement in law to consider Mediation before asking a Judge to make a decision on your financial divorce settlement.

It is well worth getting expert legal advice from a specialist Divorce Solicitor so you know what provision the law will give you. If you and your spouse cannot reach an agreement through your Solicitors, you will need to consider Mediation.

Mediation allows you to explore the issues that you cannot agree on through an independent third party, the Mediator. This meeting can be together or apart (in separate rooms or online) and it can often be cheaper and quicker than going to Court to agree your divorce settlement.

You should be aware that any agreement you make between yourselves or in Mediation is not legally binding. However, if your ex-spouse does not keep to the agreement, you can get a Court order to enforce this.

Whether or not you go to Court to agree the settlement, the aim is to be fair and consider both parties' reasonable needs. The starting point is usually a 50/50 split, however there is flexibility around this and your Divorce Solicitor can explain this further based on your individual circumstances.

As you are nearing retirement or may already be retired, your pension will be, along with any property you own, be the biggest asset you have. If you consider the starting point of a 50/50 split, your retirement fund has just been halved.

This is not your only option though. You can negotiate terms based on your own needs and requirements. For example, your ex-spouse may want to keep the family home and you could therefore offset this against a smaller share of your pension; again your Divorce Solicitor can advise you based on your financial situation.

If you are over 55 and getting a divorce, two of the most important things that you can do are to keep the channels of communication open with your ex, and to get legal and financial advice from a specialist Divorce Solicitor to ensure you are protected throughout your financial settlement.

How much does divorce cost with Co-op Legal Services?

Our fixed fee divorce provides a Divorce Solicitor to take you through the usual steps in the divorce process to end your marriage.

We also offer fixed hourly Divorce Solicitor rates for a Divorce Solicitor to deal with some parts or all of your divorce case.

For details of our current pricing, visit our fixed fee divorce solicitors page.