Find out why the Gold Coast is the divorce capital of Australia

Nowhere else is the economic ‘roller coaster’ as profound as it is on the Gold Coast ... which is one of the reasons why the Coast remains the divorce capital of Australia

Ihave been a divorce lawyer on the Gold Coast for more than 30 years. And it is my view that the most significant factor impacting upon our divorce rate is the cyclical nature of Australia’s economic circumstances.

Nowhere is this as marked as it is on the Gold Coast.

Not only does Queensland have the highest rate of divorce in Australia, but the Gold Coast still wears the divorce capital crown.

Many couples relocating to the Gold Coast have been in failed marriages or in de facto relationships.

Straightaway, that puts them in a higher risk category. As demographer Bernard Salt has noted: “Queensland’s and accordingly Gold Coast’s, transient nature and high interstate migration level directly impacts the number of ‘souring’ relationships.

“… The stress of establishing a new household, building a new life in a new state and the disconnection from family support networks affects relationships to a greater degree in Queensland than you find in other states” ... and that is magnified on the Gold Coast.

There are, though, some misconceptions in relation to the impact economic highs and lows have on marriages and relationships.

In terms of this economic roller coaster, the Gold Coast has had the best and worst of it. The GFC was a good example.

Just as the GFC did, future tough economic times will put pressure both financially and emotionally on many relationships causing some to separate, contrary to popular belief that pressure also serves to keep many couples to stay (unhappily) together.

They are too nervous to separate because of financial uncertainty. Their employment is risky; the value of home and superannuation has dropped; and the prospect of supporting two households rather than one, is daunting. Conversely, while better economic times and prosperity mean less pressure on relationships, it also acts as a catalyst to separate in many cases where couples have been unhappily together awaiting better economic times.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has recorded for a number of years that Queensland has the highest rate of marriage and regrettably, the highest rate of divorce.

With the Gold Coast experiencing the most extreme of those highs and lows, it seems the Gold Coast unfortunately is assured of retaining the unique distinction of being the divorce capital of Australia.

The GFC saw a large number of business, marriage and relationship bust-ups on the Gold Coast. Numerous wealthy Gold Coasters, mainly property developers, lost fortunes. I remember many cases during that time but one in particular I will always recall.

As a result of the GFC, the husband and wife’s net worth dropped from approximately $35 million to $1 million. They separated, much to the husband’s great disappointment.

The wife was adamant she wanted a settlement, then and there. The husband pleaded with her to postpone the settlement to see if they could together improve their financial position and thereby have more to divide. The wife refused and insisted on a settlement.

The husband agreed to give her the whole $1 million, mainly in the hope that his generosity would win her back.

Unfortunately for him, it didn’t. Instead, however, he managed to turn his fortune around and about five years after separation and settlement, he had built up his property and assets to more than $25 million.

While his wife had remarried and he was not lawfully obliged to, he voluntarily gave her $5 million to help look after their children.

JONES MITCHELL LAWYERS SPECIALISES IN MATRIMONIAL, FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIP LAW.