The 2022 figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal there were 80,057 divorces in England and Wales down almost 30% from the 113,505 divorces in 2021. That is the lowest level of divorces since 1971.
We will have to wait for the 2023 figures to see if there is indeed a downward trend, but does this really mean that more marriages are succeeding? We suggest some of the reasons for the low figures: – The state of the economy has forced couples to stay together. More people are cohabiting, so there are less marriages and hence less divorces. The continued cultural shift towards more communication and therapy. Couples are now more likely to seek help and work through issues rather than immediately resorting to divorce. The new ‘no fault divorce’ law introduced in April 2022. We explain below why ‘no fault divorce’ may have skewed the 2022 figures.
The attraction of the new procedure is that it is no longer necessary to blame the other party for causing the divorce.
Accordingly, many of the people who were considering divorce in the back end of 2021, decided to wait until April 2022 when the law changed.
That was all very well but the new divorce procedure required a ‘cooling off’ period of some 20 weeks between the start of the divorce and the grant of the conditional order (previously known as the decree nisi), and then another 6 weeks before the final order (previously the decree absolute).
So, those applying for divorce in April 2022 may well have had to wait until 2023 before they were divorced thereby deflating the 2022 figures.
We are a team of 5 experienced lawyers but, what makes us different to a firm of solicitors, is that we are acting as divorce consultants. We help people navigate the legal maze and stop them making expensive mistakes.
We use our experience of the divorce process to find solutions, lower the temperature and stop people wasting their money.
If you know of someone who may benefit from speaking to us, please tell them to contact me. We do not charge for an initial consultation.