New research has found that finances are the top cause of arguments in UK couples – although a break-up can ironically lead to a huge financial burden, particularly if you share a home
In the UK, 42% of marriages end in divorce and the most common reasons for the breakdown in relationships are children, family, and financial issues, research has found.
In fact, finances make up the largest cause for arguments in couples at 29%, and this comes as no surprise as many of us will be able to understand the stress money, or lack thereof, can place on a relationship.
Some couples may argue about living pay-check to pay-check, while others may fight about paying the bills, investing, or spending money on different things. However, splitting up can actually add to a person’s financial burden, new research shows.
The average divorce costs Brits about £14,500, according to GoodMove, before even considering legal disputes or the financial fallout of running two households.
When a relationship breaks down, a couple has to take on the burden of running two households – if someone moves out – as well as the emotional stress of selling the shared home. This is worsened by the average property sale time of 22 weeks.
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Nima Ghasri, director at Good Move, comments: “Alongside grieving, having a child, or moving house, research suggests that the breakdown of a relationship causes enormous emotional stress which, when combined with the financial and logistical burden that comes with separating property assets, can often drag the pain out for months.”
Quicker sales can help with “protecting peace, promoting stability and moving on”, because couples who have split aren’t just hoping to sell their home, but “close a chapter”.
Nearly half (46%) of divorcing home-owning couples sell their property which results in both people needing to find a new home, according to Aviva. One in six (16%) buy a new home after the separation, while just over half (51%) move to the rental market.
The average time for someone to spend as a renter post-split is 4.7 years, Aviva found – while almost one in five (19%) of people rent for more than a decade after the break up.
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Additional costs post-split include legal fees, buying a car, childcare expenses, court fees, mediation, and child maintenance costs.
As well as finances, other key causes of divorce include infidelity, addiction, and poor communication. Family Law Partners also said some couples simply drift apart, which may become an issue during key points of a couple’s lives, such as when children leave home.
The experts said: “For some couples, this may give them time to reconnect and concentrate on each other. However, sometimes the ordinary hustle and bustle of family life is no longer masking issues and couples realise that they no longer want to remain together.”
Incompatibility is also a large reason for divorce, they said, adding that issues or differences that were overlooked at the start of the relationship, could later become more obvious which can “result in people being married to someone who does not fulfil their needs”.
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