'Divorce is too easy'

Divorce is getting too easy in the opinion of most Britons - even those who are divorced themselves.

Last year, there was a five per cent jump in the number of marriages dissolved - the first rise in divorce for almost a decade.

A new survey suggests that six out of ten of us believe that there are not enough legal hurdles to deter couples from rushing into divorce.

Figures due to be released this week by the Office for National Statistics are expected to show high divorce rates following more than four years of economic turmoil.

Last year, there was a five per cent jump in the number of marriages dissolved - the first rise in divorce for almost a decade.

 

The tough economic climate is putting stress on relationships and adding pressure to disputes over assets when couples divorce.

And some lawyers are predicting that divorce will increase even more when the downturn ends as many couples may be putting it off because they cannot afford it.

 

But despite economic pressures, those questioned by law firm Pannone thought marriages were most likely to fall apart because of tensions caused by infidelity.

Of the 2,000 people polled, 57 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that ‘it is too easy to divorce these days’.

Women were slightly more inclined to agree with the statement than men – 59 per cent against 55 per cent.

And while 58 per cent of the sample who were currently married agreed with the statement, so too did 56 per cent of those who had been divorced themselves. 

Fiona Wood, a partner in family law at Pannone, said the high number of celebrity divorces could have helped reinforce the belief that divorce was too easy.

Daily Mail