The Office for National Statistics has released figures showing that the divorce rate has fallen to 12.2 per thousand marriages. This is the second successive year in which the divorce rate has declined, and the proportion has not been this low for 22 years.
The average age of divorcing couples is in the early 40s, with the highest incidence of divorce in the late 20s. An increasing number of older people are getting divorced, presumably a reflection of increased longevity. If, as some say, 60 is the new 40, then it follows that more older people will be willing to start afresh.
The statistics probably do not accurately reflect the actual amount of family breakdown, since they do not include the separation of cohabiting couples.
Some say that this generation is less willing to inflict divorce on their children, having seen – and suffered – the high divorce rate of their parents’ generation. It is also suggested that the recent spate of large awards to wives in big money divorce cases may be putting people off marriage.
We are not convinced by either of these suggestions. If one’s own childhood was scarred by divorce, one is perhaps less likely to marry. A handful of rich men may be avoiding marriage for fear of being taken to the cleaners at the courts, but this can just as easily be explained by the alternative pressures – and pleasures – of working to earn the money rather than by a positive decision not to marry. The obvious reaction to the spate of high net worth divorces is a pre-nuptial agreement, not a refusal to get married.
Many people are deferring marriage, but this is part of a wider sociological trend rather than the result of any conscious decision. It may be a by-product of this that fewer then divorce, but that is probably because one is more likely to make the right decision when older.
What is interesting is that more couples are seeking professional help, whether by counselling or from solicitors. We are always happy to see people informally, both before and during a marriage, to talk through any implications which concern them. Many disagreements can be resolved by a family mediation, something we are very keen to encourage.
Please contact Lisa Bolgar Smith on 020 7242 7000 if you want to talk about any aspect of getting married, being married or breaking up.
