Divorce later in life can have serious financial consequences. The high cost of maintaining two households is pushing many Americans to stay in marriages they might otherwise leave.

A Henderson & Henderson 2026 survey of 3,004 Americans found that one in five married people want to leave but cannot afford to. The South Carolina-based law firm identified housing costs and shared debt as the two primary financial forces keeping unhappy spouses locked in place.

Another study from LendingTree found that 28% of Americans stayed in a relationship longer than they wanted for financial reasons.

The pressure is intensifying, not easing, and millions of households are making deeply personal decisions about whether two homes fit their budget.

Also read: Divorce after 50 can bring harsh money ramifications

Divorce has become too expensive for households 

The Henderson & Henderson survey detailed the specific obstacles preventing Americans from walking away from marriages they no longer want to stay in. Among respondents who said they wanted to leave but couldn’t, 34% named housing expenses as their top barrier, and 12% cited shared debt as too difficult to handle alone.

The financial strain hits hardest in states with lower wages and tighter housing supply, revealing a sharp regional divide across the country. Mississippi led with 47% of married residents wanting to leave, followed by West Virginia at 36% and Tennessee at 27%.

About 40% of respondents said their financial stress has grown over the past two years, with more than a third citing frequent money arguments. 

Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s Chief Consumer Finance Analyst, noted that financial entanglement between partners can make leaving a relationship harder than staying. 

The study found that respondents cited shared rent, bills, and shared lifestyles as the practical ties keeping them in relationships they wanted to leave.

Damian Turco, a divorce attorney at Turco Legal in Massachusetts, told me that the real cost of keeping a family home goes beyond the mortgage and includes property taxes, insurance, utilities, and ongoing maintenance. Each spouse must determine whether they can qualify for a refinance before making the house central to any settlement, he said.

Divorce threatens retirement strategy for most married Americans

Divorce threatens more than a household budget, and the damage to long-term retirement planning may be the steepest price of all. The 2025 Annual Retirement Study from Allianz found that a majority of married Americans, 56%, said a divorce would derail their retirement strategy.

Two in five divorced Americans (40%) said the split derailed their retirement financial strategy, while 34% said it set their retirement plans back.

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Turco noted that a retirement account, home equity, and cash are never economically equal, making the division of marital assets more complex than it appears.

A majority of divorced Americans, 54%, said they carry substantially more financial responsibilities after the split than during the marriage. Some 41% reported feeling significantly more stressed about their finances since the divorce was finalized.

Married millennials were most exposed, with 63% saying a split would set their retirement back, compared with 52% of Generation Xers. One in three married Americans said they worry about not having any financial plan if they ever get divorced, the Allianz study found.

Divorce threatens retirement security for 56% of married Americans, as divided assets, rising financial responsibilities, and depleted savings put long-term financial plans at risk.

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Financial security is now a deciding factor in who Americans marry and when they leave

The weight that Americans place on financial security in their relationships helps explain why so many remain in marriages they would otherwise leave. Nine in 10 Americans said financial security is at least somewhat important in a romantic relationship, and 60% called it very important, LendingTree found.

Nearly half of Americans (49%) said the current economic climate has made their partners’ finances more important to them than before. That figure climbs to 60% among Generation Z adults and 59% among millennials, with younger Americans placing a growing premium on financial stability.

Kelly LaVigne, Senior Director of Advanced Markets at Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, warned that the cost of splitting climbs for couples who separate later in life.

<strong><strong>Trying to fund two separate lives, instead of a joint one, can deplete retirement accounts faster than anticipated,</strong></strong>

Among Americans in a relationship, 46% said they wish their spouse or partner were more financially secure than they are right now, LendingTree reported.

How couples can protect their finances before a split becomes unavoidable

Schulz observed that financial stability itself serves as a form of freedom within a relationship, giving a partner the practical ability to leave if the relationship becomes unsatisfying or unsafe.

He pointed to independent savings, what he termed a “see-ya-later fund,” as the specific mechanism that converts that freedom from theory into action.

Turco stressed that every divorce settlement should serve as a long-term financial plan covering life after the split. He urged anyone considering a split to evaluate their post-divorce income, housing costs, debt obligations, and retirement savings before agreeing to any final terms.

On the retirement side, Allianz found that one in three married Americans has no financial plan for a potential divorce, a gap the study notes alongside the retirement-related damage experienced by divorced respondents. 

LaVigne said that divorced households often need to delay retirement to accumulate more savings and consider additional risk-management strategies to extend their funds.

Related: Divorce Under Pressure: Budget, Cash Needs, and Retirement Planning