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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Emily Dugan

Divorces delayed by cost of living crisis, research finds

graphic showing couple standing back to back, the man in a dark suit and woman in a white wedding dress, in the middle of a house split in two
Interest rate rises mean people ‘can’t afford the new mortgage rates and they can’t afford to maintain two households’, said one family lawyer. Photograph: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

The start of the new year is often boom time for divorce lawyers, but 2024 may be different as new research shows the cost of living crisis has delayed more than 270,000 couples from splitting.

Financial pressures delayed 19% of divorces, researchers at Legal & General found. The impact has been particularly pronounced since 2020, with income concerns, cost of living pressures and the price of divorce all cited as reasons to postpone the split.

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