The 11 and a bit year itch

New figures from the Office for National Statistics have hit the headlines this week showing that contrary to popular belief, the divorce rate is going down, not up, and is now at the lowest level its been for 40 years. And the average time that a marriage lasts is 11.7 years. One family lawyer said cohabitation appeared to be operating as a form of “natural selection” for relationships, with only the fittest surviving into marriage and beyond.  Others in the media speculate that its the gloomy economic climate that means people are ‘stuck’ together as they can’t afford to divorce.  The figures certainly reflect the growing trend of people choosing to live together rather than marry. Indeed, over 50% of children now born in the UK are born out of ‘wedlock’ : the number of unwed couples bringing up children has grown by 132% since 1996 to almost 1.3 million. With 1 in 5 households in this country now cohabiting, it surely is time for the law to reflect modern times and change accordingly. 

The Cohabitation Rights Bill is in the early stages of passing through parliament, but it’s unwise to expect any change soon or indeed at all. In the meantime, those couples labouring under the misapprehension of  ‘Common Law Spouse’ rights really do need to know this: there is NO SUCH THING as a common law husband or wife, and if your relationship does sadly hit the buffers, you really may not have the protection you think.

The 11.7-year itch: How marriage is lasting longer as divorce rates plunge 
But official figures suggest that British marriages really are lasting longer than a generation ago.

The latest analysis from the Office for National Statistics shows that divorce, measured as a rate and a total number, fell to the lowest level for 40 years in 2014.

Overall 111,169 couples in England and Wales divorced in 2014, a fall of 3.1 per cent in a year and as much as 27 per cent in just over a decade.

The divorce rate has also dropped by around 30 per cent in a decade, for both men & women, to reach 9.3 per 1000 married people.

Analysts said the fall in divorce rates appears, to reflect the overall shift away from marriage, with more couples choosing to cohabit at least initially.


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