Family Partner Antonia Felix was interviewed by The Financial Times for a piece on the impact of the cost of living crisis on divorce.
There was a 9.6 per cent increase in divorces in England in Wales in 2021, compared with 2020. Although partially caused by a backlog of cases after the pandemic lockdowns, some have argued that the financial stresses of the COVD-19 crisis and the rising cost of living have driven more couples to split.
In the article, Antonia is quoted discussing 'discretionary divorcers' – those who opt against initiating a permanent split. She pointed at that couples who do this can face disputes further down the line as they attempt to change the terms of their settlements after the fact.
Antonia stated: “There are more people having issues within, or after, their divorce and making variation applications because one party has lost their job, their pay has decreased or outgoings have gone up and they have less disposable income.”
Read here (subscription required).