Divorce ‘on backburner’ for unhappy couples
NEW research shows that while the UK is getting ready to divorce itself from the EU, family law professionals are expecting couples to delay divorce proceedings.
Business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK’s annual matrimonial survey of family law professionals found that 24% believe the Brexit vote may lead to people delaying divorce.
The survey also reveals that the number of lawyers who have seen an increase in the volume of people getting divorced has dropped.
Only 27% of those surveyed say they saw an increase this year, compared to 44% last year. This slow-down could be a reflection of the economic uncertainty arising from the EU referendum, mirroring the trends seen during the economic downturn of 2008.
Nick Andrews, head of disputes at Grant Thornton said: “2016 has been a turbulent year and uncertainty has remained a common theme throughout.
“The family law market is no different with almost a quarter of those surveyed saying they believe the Brexit vote may lead to people delaying divorce.
“There are already signs that the potential legal impact of Brexit is being considered, with the Government having opted in to European Commission proposals in relation to cross-border family proceedings.
“While family law professionals are evidently expecting some change, only time will tell if there will be any unforeseen impacts of leaving the EU and how many of these changes will affect family law.”
The survey of family law professionals, which looks at the detailed issues surrounding divorce in practice and in principle, also asked respondents to cite the most common reasons seen for marriage breakdowns this year.
Growing apart or falling out of love remained the most common (25%), followed by extra-marital affair (22%) and unreasonable or controlling behaviour (17%).
The majority of those surveyed (63%) said they had not seen an increase in the average age of people getting divorced, which remained at 40-49, whilst the most common marriage length ending was found to be 11-20 years (73%).
The survey also found an increase in the amount of cases where the divorcing parties had concealed assets or not disclosed all the necessary information. Almost half the professionals surveyed (47%) answered that this was an issue in 20-30% of their cases.
