Article content continued

While Canada hasn’t collected this information in a decade, Shulman Law Firm talked to the Post about their own internal data. They say their own numbers suggest grey divorce is on the rise.

A decade ago, about 10 per cent of their clients were 50 and older. But the firm now says the demographic “constitutes approximately 40 per cent.”

Interestingly, the age group of 60 and older saw the most significant change, nearly doubling over the past 10 years — although it still remains the minority of cases at the firm.

“It appears that people are living longer and there is a shift from the age groups for divorces.”

Canadians continue to see a steady increase in how long we’re living. Between 1921 and 2005, we gained about 20 years of life expectancy from 58.8 to 78 years for men and from 60.6 to 82.7 years for women. By 2031, the average life expectancy could rise to 81.9 for men and 86 for women.

As we live longer and longer lives, it may be that we are more aware of how much time we’ll need to spend with our partners — and that might not paint a pretty picture as we reevaluate our relationships later in life.

“Maybe initially they believed that this was the right person. And as you grow older, you may grow apart. And so the way they see it is … I have less in front than there is behind so I need to focus on what’s left of my life and really maximizing my happiness,” Isaac says.

Eva Sachs and Marion Korn are the co-founders of Mutual Solutions, a mediation service to help separating couples make informed decisions on finance and social issues. They also wrote the book When Harry Left Sally.



“If we have a 30-year marriage, it’s not that we have 10 years left, but we may be only halfway through that marriage,” says Sachs. “People are looking at that and saying ‘I have a long way to go and do I necessarily want to continue in an unhappy relationship?’”