Divorce levels dip as lock down takes toll on Family Courts

Family Court data released by the Ministry of Justice has revealed that divorce rates have dipped as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions.

Between April and June 2020, 56,867 new cases were started in the family courts. This was a 13% decrease during the same time frame in 2019.

The data revealed that between April and June 2020, there were 23,372 divorce petitions filed. This was an 18% decrease on the same time period in 2019.

23,196 decree absolutes were granted in this time, a decrease of 5% from the comparative data field in 2019.

Average time from petition to decree nisi decreased to 23 weeks in April to June 2020, from 33 weeks in the same quarter of 2019.

The data also revealed that the only area of family law which has grown during this time is domestic abuse,  which was up by almost a quarter (24%).

A statistician who was involved in compiling the data, said:

“As society and the economy begins to recover from the impact of Covid-19, it is expected that case volumes will return to historic trend levels and may even temporarily exceed the pre-covid-19 volumes as the backlog of cases is processed. We are working with representative bodies to understand the expected demand and will continue to monitor future trends in both volumes and timeliness.”

Those in the field have responded to the figures.

Joanna Farrands, Partner and head of the Family team at Moore Barlow, comments:

“Whilst the decrease in new family law cases is no doubt due to Covid-19 and lockdown, it will also be reflective of the move to try and resolve more matters outside of the court system with an increase in arbitration and private Financial Dispute Resolution hearings. The move to alternative dispute resolution solutions has been fast-tracked by Covid-19 and the reduction in capacity of the courts. In addition, as most court hearings are now by telephone, this often produces a less than satisfactory experience and outcome for the clients.

“The increase in domestic violence is a sad reflection of couples being locked down together in difficult circumstances; we have seen a significant upturn in these cases in practice.”

John Darnton, Consultant at BDB Pitmans, comments:

“The latest figure from the Family Court Statistics Quarterly (for April to June 2020) highlight further casualties of the ongoing pandemic. Lockdown and enforced confinement placed huge pressures on families and many cracks became fissures. Sadly the infrastructure has simply not been in place to deal with these problems. Whilst most solicitors have continued to function the absence of ‘face to face’ meetings with clients has clearly been an impediment for some clients – having a zoom call with your spouse in the background is not easy! There are reports of unprecedented amounts of domestic violence but whilst that can often be a gateway to Legal Aid many solicitors no longer do Legal Aid work and those that do are only permitted to take on a limited number of cases. Many clients are therefore cut off from effective legal advice.

“The courts continued to operate during the early summer but the reality is that, unless this were done online, there were huge delays in the processing of all applications to the family courts save for the most urgent. There were delays in the issuing of divorce proceedings and the processing of applications to progress them. The courts had also to adapt to new ways of working with most hearings being held “virtually” and only limited numbers in physically courts. ”

Katie O’Callaghan, Partner in the Family team at Boodle Hatfield, comments:

“It’s impossible to present your partner with divorce papers and then sit down next to them on the sofa. That made divorcing during lockdown very difficult for many people.”

“Moving out is a common part of the divorce process. Normally, even those who live in the same household during the divorce can be at home as little as possible by staying late at the office and socialising with friends. Those options simply weren’t available during lockdown.”

“Many thousands of people have effectively been forced to put up with very unhappy home lives for months, biding their time until they could leave and file for divorce.”

“We’re likely to see a big jump in divorce applications in the third quarter – many people will have left unhappy marriages as soon as lockdown measures were dropped. After the announcement by Boris Johnson this week, more people may be keen to initiate divorce before another lockdown sets in.”

Hannah Gumbrill-Ward, Solicitor at Winckworth Sherwood, said:

“Despite many commentators speculating at the start of the pandemic and ensuing lockdown that the divorce rate would rocket, between April and June 2020 there was actually a decrease, with 18% less divorce petitions being filed and 5% less decree absolutes being granted compared with the same period last year, according to the latest Family Court quarterly statistics by the Ministry of Justice. This also bucks the trends observed in both China and the US where a surges in divorce rates were reported anecdotally. There was a general decrease of 13% in new cases started in the Family courts compared with the same period last year, which is unsurprising in view of the restrictions the pandemic has placed on the court’s ability to operate at full capacity. While courts have been reopening steadily in recent months, the vast majority of cases have been taking place remotely, although this is not without its own problems.

“While we have seen a rise in the number of enquiries from clients who have been tested in their marriages during lockdown and are contemplating divorce, and want to understand if it is the right option for them, we have equally experienced a heightened degree of nervousness among some of them as to whether now is the right time. A common theme in the increased caution about ‘pushing the button’ on divorce has been due to the financial uncertainty that the pandemic continues to create. For many, with continued job uncertainty and the impact of the economy on investment portfolios, divorcing is seen to be too great a risk to take in the present climate. For others, they see the buoyancy of the housing market and Stamp Duty holiday as a window of opportunity to resolve matters and cut financial ties with their spouse by Spring 2021.

“How people’s attitudes might change now we are on the verge of lockdown 2.0 is yet to be seen. It may be that the prospect of spending another six months with a spouse who they have long been emotionally separated from will be too much, no matter the financial uncertainty.”

The full report can be read here.