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Divorce rate goes up in Britain
Fri 25 Jun 2010
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed the divorce rate in the UK has gone up during the last three decades.
According to official figures, seven per cent of couples in Britain got divorced during 2008.
This compares with just two per cent 30 years earlier.
ONS figures also revealed that 45 per cent of all marriages in the UK now end in divorce.
The organisation believes that by 2033, the proportion of the adult population who are divorced will be comparable to that in 2008.
However, it noted that differences could appear among certain age groups.
For instance, the ONS said the proportion of over-65s who are divorced is likely to double during this period.
Meanwhile, estimates suggest the proportion of people aged between 35 and 44 who are divorced will halve.
The ONS added that the proportion of 45 to 64-year-olds who are divorced will remain steady over the next ten years before dropping off.
This comes after the body reported that marriage rates in 2008 were at their lowest since they were first calculated in 1862.
Jacqueline Major, a family law solicitor at Winckworth Sherwood, commented: "45 per cent of all marriages end in divorce - that is an extremely high figure, and all signs show it may well rise in years to come.
"For anyone entering marriage, and particularly those contemplating second or subsequent marriages, it would be prudent to take legal advice on pre-nuptial agreements - how to avoid the ravages of divorce in relation to finances should the marriage fail.
"Pre-nuptial agreements are a very specialised area of law, and the right experts should be consulted. We are a family team with such expertise, and draft an increasing number of pre nups each year.
"Many clients without pre-nups that come to us after their marriage has failed state ruefully they wished with hindsight they had entered such an agreement.
"Divorce is never expected, and like untimely death, often occurs out of the blue. A pre-nuptial agreement cannot prevent divorce, but can minimise the uncertainty and acrimony too often attendant with divorce."
