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New research shows change in most common reasons for divorce

The most common reasons for divorce historically focussed on the behaviour of one or both spouses, but new research suggests that people are now more inclined to separate based on more emotional and personal reasons linked to personal satisfaction.

A study published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy involved 2,371 recently divorced people and asked them about their reasons for the separation. Respondents were able to give multiple reasons, and the top 4 were as follows:

47% of participants cited a lack of love or intimacy, saying one or both partners had fallen out of love

44% referred to communication problems, which including having different styles of communication or one spouse communicating less than the other

34% cited a lack of sympathy, respect or trust

32% said that they had grown apart

The results of the survey will not be surprising to family law solicitors in Northern Ireland, and they do reflect that there has been a decline in behavioural motives to divorce in recent years, such as adultery, addition or abuse. The shift adds weight to the argument that divorce should no longer be blame-based, which has seen the moves towards no fault divorce in England and Wales.

If you require legal advice in respect of a potential separation from a divorce solicitor in Northern Ireland contact Wilson Nesbitt in Belfast or Bangor by clicking here.

Our family law experts can guide you on issues such as what happens with the matrimonial home and other assets, issues involving the children such as who will be the resident parent and what will be the contact arrangements for the other parent, and many other issues.

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