Divorce after 50 is an emotionally terrifying event, even in the most uncontested cases. However, with people living longer, the number of couples divorcing after 50 has risen every year for the last decade, will continue for the forseeable future.
The challanges are often different as frequently children have left home, parties are often approaching retirement or significant career changes. It is an age bracket that people have often been planning for, but which plans are now seriously disrupted by the the separation. So, how do people get through it?
1 – Meet with a Financial Planner – Trained professionals can help you make sense of your financial situation. They can evaluate your entire financial profile and help you develop an understandable plan that can put you back on the road to retirement.
2. Meet others in Similar Situation – There are groups all over town that connect people who are also going through it. Many are not dating oriented, but for social connections. Check out our counseling resource page for groups of others in transition. Additionally, groups can found posted at librarys, local papers and the internet.
3 – Take a Serious Look at who you are: Marriage may have consumed you life and you may have lost track of your individuality. So, spend some time with yourself. Find out what makes you tick. What excites you. What changes you would like to make. What things you would like to do.
4 – Seriously consider counselling: Even though you may feel a bit uncomfortable if you have never tried counseling, NOTHING can move you along emotionally through the process faster and with better results than having a trained professional coach taking the steps with you. Counselling can offer, support, guidance, and a caring relationship in which, at your own pace, you can explore the many issues that are swirling through you head. .
5- Stay in contact with your children: The effects of divorce have in impact on even adult children. They often feel drawn to take sides, protect one parent over the other, and conflicted about how to deal with holidays and other important events. So, don’t forget the birthday cards and other celebrations that you had when you were with your children. No matter their age, continue to show your love and support for them.
6 – Get out there and be busy:You do not have to jump into the dating world to be busy. There is a big world out there with lots of opportunity. Check out event and groups at REI, The Denver Art Museum, and the Colorado History Museum. If you are not sure what excites you, check out Colorado Free University or The Academy for Life Long Learning. The Academy is a community of adults gathered together to design and enjoy new adventures in learning. With hundreds of interesting classes offered every year, the Colorado Academy of Lifelong Learning is a group of like-minded men and women seeking to bring stimulating intellectual, cultural, and social opportunities to adults in the Denver area. This non-profit organization offers a format that results in social support regardless of your interests.