The expected record surge in New Year marriage break-ups could well be tempered by the economic downturn, a leading family lawyer has revealed.
The start of January traditionally sees a boom in divorce enquiries, after the stresses of Christmas take their toll.
But Justin Creed, of Leamington-based Wright Hassall has identified a new trend caused by plummeting personal wealth and the decline in the property market, which is forcing couples who may well have split up to stay together for longer.
“While we have had a noticeable upturn in enquiries, many have predicted that lawyers would be swamped but that is not proving to be the case,” he said.
“We know that there are couples who will stay together until the economic outlook is more certain and only then will they decide to divorce.
“This will leave couples continuing to live in unhappy relationships simply by reason of financial necessity.
“People are uncertain about their jobs, savings and property prices and, in most cases, the family home is the main asset.
“A buoyant property market meant that separating couples had enough capital to start afresh but this is no longer the case.
“It means that couples contemplating divorce are faced with the uncertainty of not knowing what their assets are worth and, importantly, what they will be left with after a split.
“They cannot plan for their separation or know if they will have the income to support themselves.
“Neither do they know how long it will take to sell a property which they will usually be dependent upon in order to release capital necessary to provide for their new homes.
“Faced with these uncertainties, couples may choose to try and resolve their differences and stay together for the time being in which case there are creative legal solutions available that will help them in during this period. The alternative is for them to wait until their circumstances change.”
