Posted on 15 December 2011
Recession blamed for rise in divorce rate
Posted in Legal news
Divorce lawyers are claiming that the recession is partly to blame for the recent rise in the divorce rate, the first rise in eight years.
Official figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show that there were 119,589 divorces in England and Wales last year, 4.9% up from the year before and some lawyers are claiming that the economic downturn has been at least partly to blame. Divorce lawyer Fiona Wood said that finances are certainly one reason, though it is likely that, rather than actually causing a couple to divorce, they merely exacerbate existing issues.
Based on the ONS figures, there is a rate of 11.1 people divorcing for every 1,000 of the married population, up from 10.5 in 2009. The figures also show that the average age at divorce is 44.2 for men and 41.7 for women. Women aged between 25 and 29 had the highest divorce rate with 25.9 per 1,000 in this age group.
The figures also showed that nearly a fifth of those who were divorced in 2010 had seen a previous marriage breakdown and Fiona Wood said it shows that, despite divorce being often a very unpleasant process, couples were still prepared to try marriage again.