The age at which people have their first child has been changing in the United States. Like the age at which they get married, it has been going up. Recently, the U.S. census determined that the average age of a woman who was having her first child was 30 years old. This is the highest in recorded history within the United States.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t couples out there having children in their early 20s or even earlier. It does happen. But the average has been moving progressively upward. In some ways, this mirrors the average age of marriage, which is now 30 for women and 32 for men.
How can this complicate divorce?
This can certainly have an impact on a divorce, as couples will have children later in life.
For instance, in previous generations, a couple may have had two children in their early 20s. By the time they were in their early 40s and considering divorce, both of those children would have likely left the house and started lives of their own, perhaps going to college.
But parents in their early 40s today may still be raising teenagers – or even young children who are still under the age of 10. This massively changes the divorce case because these parents now have to think about child custody schedules, parenting time allocations, child support payments and much more.
What steps should you take?
Are you thinking about getting divorced, with the understanding that it’s going to be complicated? The key is to understand the legal steps that you can take, the rights you have as a parent and all of the tools you have at your disposal to work toward the best possible outcome in your divorce case.
