Throughout my career as a family law attorney, I have had many conversations with clients that focus on the mental well-being of their children during and after the separation. Divorce is a difficult process, especially for parents who have to negotiate the challenges of shared custody, building new routines and holiday traditions, and even the potential addition of new romantic partners.

One misconception about divorcing parents is that they are young or even middle-aged. However, an increasing statistical trend finds that more people who are 50 and older are divorcing at a higher rate than ever before, otherwise known as “gray divorce.” Some examples include Al and Tipper Gore and Meryl Streep and Don Gummer, who separated this fall after nearly a half-century together. Both couples are not just parents but grandparents as well, meaning that not only did they have to break the news to their grown children, but potentially grandchildren who may not comprehend what happened to grandpa and grandma’s relationship and how that will affect the family dynamic.