Divorce can be challenging at any age, but when it comes to “grey divorce” (divorce among couples aged 50 and older), the reasons and consequences can be particularly complex.
If you or someone you know is going through this, understanding the reasons behind it and how mediation can help is crucial.
🔹 The Complexity of Grey Divorce:
Grey divorce often stems from a unique blend of factors that accumulate over time. The empty nest syndrome, financial disagreements, or simply growing apart as individuals evolve are common contributors to this decision. It’s a phase in life where individuals are contemplating their future, and it can be emotionally taxing and financially burdensome.
Splitting assets can be one of the most intricate and contentious parts of a grey divorce. Couples may have accumulated significant wealth over their years together, and deciding how to fairly divide it can be a daunting task. This often involves considerations like:
🔸Real Estate: Deciding what to do with the family home, vacation properties, or other real estate assets.
🔸 Retirement Accounts: Dividing retirement funds and pensions.
🔸 Investments: Splitting stocks, bonds, and other investments acquired during the marriage.
🔸 Business Interests: Addressing jointly owned businesses or professional practices.
🔸 Debts and Liabilities: Figuring out how to allocate debts and other financial obligations.
In such a complex landscape, divorce mediation shines as a viable solution because it’s both cost-effective and non-confrontational.
If you have any questions, please reach out and let’s chat to explore your options.
Beryl McNeill is a Calgary divorce lawyer who strongly believes mutual respect and understanding go a long way toward resolving family law matters. As a Registered Collaborative Law practitioner in Calgary, she has dedicated her firm to amicable, cooperative negotiation as a means for settling divorces. Furthermore, throughout her law career, Beryl has seen the costs of adversarial negotiations, both financial and emotional. In emphasizing the collaborative approach, Beryl offers her clients a more efficient model that preserves personal and monetary assets alike.
More and more individuals are attracted to resolving their family law matters in a civil, respectful way. Therefore, they come to Beryl from many walks of life—as professionals in the oil and gas industry and their spouses, business owners, and working spouses with children. Clients say that even after a single consultation with Beryl they feel less stressed and more clear about the way forward.
Beryl understands the often fearful, emotional early stages of divorce. Incorporating skills developed from her training as a life coach, Beryl helps clients move beyond their stress response to more logical, creative thinking. Once there, she works with clients to discover what’s truly important to them in attaining divorce. Furthermore, she encourages clients to picture what a successful settlement would look like a year or more down the road as a means of focusing on their goals. By educating and empowering clients, Beryl seeks to transform the way they resolve family disputes—in a more constructive, intelligent and amicable way than would be possible otherwise.
Finally, Beryl is very active with the Family Bar and the Collaborative Law Community. Her involvement provides her clients with the assurance that she has her finger on the pulse of Family Law in Alberta, offering them a distinct advantage in their quest for equity and civility.