Silver splitters trigger 6% leap in divorce rate

DIVORCE is on the rise because of growing numbers of breakups among the over-50s.

The Office for National Statistics recorded 106,959 divorces in England and Wales last year – 6 per cent more than in 2015.

Almost a quarter of divorces involved women over 50 – so-called ‘silver splitters’. The increase is the first for six years and bucks a trend that has seen divorce rates fall by nearly a third since 2003.

Sam Hall, of family law firm Hall Brown, said: ‘Over the last few years, there have been various reasons given for a rise in divorce among the silver splitters, such as children have grown up and left home and spouses with very different outlooks on life.

‘However, what is noticeable is that there has been a gradual shift in perception of ageing.

‘There used to be something of a fear among women even in their late 40s about the prospect of facing late life on their own.

‘Now, they regard a newly single life as more of an opportunity. Even those who might consider them- selves to have relatively modest means have greater resources to rely on after divorce than in previous generations because of the increase in property prices or inheritance.’

Falling levels of divorce at younger ages mean a typical marriage that ended in divorce last year had lasted 12 years – the longest duration since reforms in the 1970s made it easier to separate.

The ONS said in its report: ‘Changes in attitudes to cohabitation as an alternative to marriage or prior to marriage, particularly at younger ages, are likely to have been a factor affecting the decrease in divorce rates since 2003.’

Six million people are cohabiting – and more are marrying at older ages – a combination that could mean those who choose to marry are more committed to staying together.

Last year nearly 27,000 women over the age of 55 divorced, including more than 6,000 who were in their 60s. That total was 3,000 up on 2015.