'Silver-haired' divorce rates at all-time high

The rising level of so-called "silver haired" divorces is being linked to the phenomenon of baby-boomer emptynesters who decide to end their marriages once their children leave home.

Last year 54,148 people aged 50 or more got divorced - a 65 per cent increase from the 32,767 total of 1981. The average age of divorcees has risen to 41.2 years for women and 43.7 for men.

Marilyn Stowe, divorce lawyer for Stowe Family Law, said the rise in divorcee ages may be linked to longer and healthier lives.

She said: "People now have more energy in their later years and realise there is nothing left in their marriage once they have had their career and the children have left home."

Divorce experts also linked the trend to the more generous settlements being awarded to "home-maker" wives, which gave them a greater incentive to end unhappy marriages.

The rising divorce rate among the middle aged goes counter to the broader trend of falling overall numbers of divorces.

The Office for National Statistics said the number of couples getting a divorce had dropped to the lowest rate for 26 years in 2007.

ONS figures showed divorces in England and Wales fell for a third consecutive year, down from 12.2 divorces per 1,000 married men in 2006 to 11.9.

In 2007, there were 26.6 divorces per 1,000 married men aged 25-29, and 26.9 divorces per 1,000 women.

While the figure is at the lowest level since 1981, the number of twicemarried men and women divorcing in 2007 had doubled over nearly 30 years.

In 1980 only one in 10 men and women getting a divorce had been divorced before, while the figure stood at one in five in 2007.

In 2007 there were 2.3 divorces for every 1,000 men aged 60 and over and 1.6 for every 1,000 women in the same age group.

Divorces among people aged 45 to 49 also increased, although more women got divorced. In 2006 14.9 divorces took place for every 1,000 married women aged 45 to 49, rising to 15.3 by 2007.

Robert Kerr, a partner at Grant Thornton's forensic and investigation services, said couples cohabiting without marrying may explain low divorce rates, as well as money concerns.

Mr Kerr said men often received worse divorce payouts and may delay divorce "at least until the economic landscape settles".