Divorce lawyers refer to the first few days of January as 'D' day, because this is the period when the most divorce proceedings are commenced. Quite often this is the result of a planned 'last Christmas' before breaking the news to the children, or it may be the result of one too many arguments over the Christmas period.
This article provides guidance for couples separating or divorcing and analyses the latest divorce statistics.
Regardless of the reason, this is often a painful decision for any couple to make. As we approach this difficult time, we would like to offer a few points of advice:
In 2021, which is currently the latest data, there were 113,505 divorces granted in England and Wales which was a 9.6 % increase compared to 2020. Majority of divorces were among opposite sex couples with 1.4% among same sex couples.
Back in 1965, one in ten couples who married that year were divorced by their 10th anniversary and this increased to one in four couples for those married in 1995. However, for couples married in 2011, the most recent cohort to have reached this milestone, we have seen a decrease with fewer than 1.5 marriages ending in divorce by their 10th anniversary.
Obviously, since this data was released, there has been a change in the law and divorces are no longer fault-based. It will be interesting to see whether this has impacted the statistics in a positive or a negative way when the next consensus is run.
If you would like to discuss this further please contact Zoe Porter, partner at Ashfords LLP, on z.porter@ashfords.co.uk or 01392 333686.
