Rising living costs and have been attributed to a 66% increase in the number of settlements being contested as the number disputes arising from divorce awards hits a 15 year high.
There were 76,000 divorces in 2023, a 30% fall in the number of divorces since 2021, and the lowest number in total since 1971. The 10,300 financial remedy orders contested in the family courts in 2024 represented at 66% increase on 2023 and the highest number of financial settlements contested in the courts since 2008.
The increase has been attributed to rising living costs and economic uncertainty as divorcing couples become less certain about their financial futures. The research was conducted by Nockolds who added the “exodus of high net worth individuals from the UK is leading to a surge in divorces. If one spouse wants to move while the other does not, that can be the trigger for the divorce,” said Kaja Viknes, a lawyer at the firm.
Referring to London’s reputation as the ‘divorce capital’ she added wealthy foreigners can be ‘less willing to agree to a settlement if the divorce law in their home country would favour a different division of assets’ Viknes said more parties in divorce were ‘challenging existing final orders and seeking to vary them. This is usually because their financial position has deteriorated over the intervening years or due to undisclosed assets coming to light later.’ She added there has also been an increase in people attempting to enforce court orders when a former spouse refuses to comply, owing to the rising cost of living and financial insecurity. The government’s tightening of rules on non-doms has also been cited a reason for the rise in disputes
Commenting on the trend Tom Quinn, partner in the family team at Birketts said
“Now is undoubtedly the era of the ‘strategic divorce’. People are approaching divorce with the mindset of corporate litigation: strategic, cautious and adversarial. Combined with increasing global economic insecurity, we’re seeing the rise of the prenup / marriage postmortem and where every past financial decision is now being relitigated: perversely, in an age where people often feel poorer, our experience is that this may result in arguing over money on divorce more (perhaps because people are just less bullish about their financial futures).
The Standish v Standish case is a clear sign of the times, though it is worth noting that this a case with extreme facts: few divorcing couples argue (unfortunately over tens of millions of pounds). But while litigation grabs headlines, it rarely serves couples well. Now more than ever, they need to focus on proportionality and strive towards realistic outcomes through early, clear advice and promoting alternative dispute resolution wherever possible. A commercially grounded mindset can help avoid prolonged battles and preserve value for everyone involved.”
The research also found courts are failing to comply with their own targets, with a four week increase to 47 weeks in the average time for disputes between separated parents over child arrangements to go from application to a final order.
