Earlier this year, we got the latest divorce statistics from the government’s Office for National Statistics. And while these most recent results are actually for 2020, they do paint an interesting picture of how successful marriages are in recent times.
At EJM Investigations we offer a number of services, including helping to make sure divorce papers are properly delivered across the northwest. If you (or your solicitor) need help with process serving in Liverpool or the surrounding area, just let us know.
Let’s take a look at some of the stats around divorce from this latest bulletin:
- There were just over 100,000 divorces in 2020
To be exact, there were 103,592 divorces granted. This figure is for England and Wales only – statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland are announced separately. This was a 4.5% decrease compared to 2019, and 98.9% of divorces granted were among opposite-sex couples.
It’s worth noting that the Ministry of Justice has reported that some divorce proceedings may have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the extent of that impact is unknown. By the same token, you could probably argue that the stress caused by the pandemic, and particularly by lockdown, could have caused a spike in divorce requests too.
- The majority of same-sex divorces are between married females
There were 1,154 divorces of same-sex couples, which was an increase of over 40% compared to 2019. Of these, 71.3% of the divorces were between female couples.
- The average duration of marriage at the time of divorce was 11.9 years for opposite sex couples
That’s a decrease, as the average duration was 12.4 years in 2019. It’s a minor decrease though – generally, failed marriages are still lasting an average of around 12 years.
- For same-sex couples, the average duration of marriage before divorce is around 5 years.
Specifically, it’s 4.7 years for female couples and 5.4 years for married couples. But this statistic is a hard one to really validate since that’s almost the maximum time a couple could be married. Same-sex marriages were only introduced in March 2014, so around 6.5 years would be the longest marriage possible before divorce in 2020.
So what does it all mean?
It would be great to offer a comparison to marriages, but remember that this is 2020, so a lot of weddings were postponed. Many people did still get married, but a lot of people also deferred their wedding to have the one that they actually wanted – with guests. The ONS estimates almost 75,000 weddings were postponed in that year.
So, it’s hard to draw any real conclusion from these latest statistics, but what do you think? Does 100,000 divorces sound high to you? Are you surprised that marriages that end up in divorce still last around 12 years?
And, most importantly, if you’re looking for some help with process serving in Liverpool or the rest of the northwest, for divorce papers or any other legal document that needs a reliable server, do you know to call EJM Investigations on 01772 334700?