Which one is right?
later/latter part of life
Usually ‘latter’ but with no further context to go on, there is no guarantee.
I would have said the more ‘usual’ would be ‘later’ in that phrase.
Welcome back.
I guess it doesn’t really matter which we consider would be the most common. The fact remains that without context, there’s no way of indicating which would be appropriate.
Let’s put a spot of context on it -
In her later years she took to writing poetry. That means when she got older, she did this. She is no longer alive.
In her latter years she has become known as a television presenter.
This means recently and she is still with us.
By the way I haven’t been away - just lurking.