The ONS has published its latest round of statistics in relation to UK families and households. One of the key statistic reaching the headlines is the increase in ‘modern families’ i.e. the rise in the number of cohabiting but unmarried couples, and same sex couples.
However, the statistic I was particularly intrigued by was the huge amount of 20 to 34 year olds still living at home with their parents in 2018 – being a whopping 25% or 3.4 million!
I have had many cases over the years where clients are still housing their adult children well into their twenties (not to mention friends, colleagues, family members in the same situation), and so whilst I wasn’t surprised that this is happening, I was taken aback at the shear volume of the trend.
As the law stands, when considering financial needs on divorce the court will not generally take into account adult children that are not in full time education, or do not have special needs of some kind. However, as evidenced by this statistic, the practical and moral reality is that many parents continue to be financially responsible for their children long after they finish higher education, and may continue to be for a long time to come. Is the law on this matter due an update?
In 2018, one in four young adults (3.4 million) aged 20 to 34 years were living with their parents.