Trading marriage bonds for bank bonds

The credit crunch is beginning to take its toll on far more than just personal savings, consumer confidence, and mortgage lending.

Recent statistics from the Office of National Statistics suggest that modern-day marriage in the UK might be a suffering institution.  Marriage rates for 2007 are at their lowest since the Office began keeping record, and many experts agree that the economic downturn has only helped to expedite this decline.

In 2007, there were a total of 231,450 marriages registered in England and Wales – a 3.3 per cent decrease from 2006 and the lowest number of registered marriages since 1895.

Though rising wedding costs might be to blame, Joanna Grandfield, barrister at Mills & Reeves, also cites a rise in the number of divorce settlement renegotiations, saying:

“The downward trend in marriage is long term. However, it has no doubt been helped by the current economic climate, which is reflected in the cases we are seeing where couples are seeking to renegotiate the financial terms of their divorce settlements.”

Barristers from family law teams across the UK have echoed Grandfield’s remarks.  According to Suzanne Kingston, partner in family law at Dawsons in London, City bankers in particular are turning to divorce resettlement renegotiations in the wake of scant bonuses and sudden pay cuts.  She said:

“When the economy first started to show signs of being in trouble, people were waiting to see if there would be a recovery. But since it promises to be a longer-term situation, we have been getting more queries, particularly since people have been receiving memos suggesting that they are unlikely to receive bonuses at the same levels as previous years.”

Source: Guardian.co.uk