Divorce, it has been said, is one of the most significant events that someone can experience in their lifetime.

Some may be going their separate ways after many years together and having to explain their decisions to children, family and friends.

Even for those spouses who part relatively amicably, dealing with the practical aspects of such a decision, including living arrangements and finances, can still prove stressful.

Whilst those are important considerations at any age, they could be said to be particularly so for those of or nearing retirement age, given that any arrangements put in place will have consequences immediately and not just many decades into the future.

One would imagine that such pressures would be acutely felt by women who, in many cases, represent the financially weaker spouse in a divorce.

So, it might be surprising to some people to read media reports suggesting that many women who experience mid-life divorce – now commonly known as ‘silver splitting’ – actually feel a measure of relief or satisfaction once their marriages come to an end (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/relationships/grey-divorce/#:~:text=Financial%20insecurity&text=A%20recent%20Survation%20report%20highlighted,careers%20to%20look%20after%20children.).

Figures published annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show quite clearly that women are more likely to apply for divorce than men (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/divorce/bulletins/divorcesinenglandandwales/2023).

That has remained the case even after the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 came into force nearly four years ago (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/11/contents), something which not only heralded the advent of ‘no-fault’ divorce but allowed couples to make joint divorce applications.

Further ONS data also reveals that age is very important. The most recent records demonstrate that despite a drop in divorce numbers across younger age groups, it is on the rise among those over the age of 50. In 2019, men and women in that age bracket accounted for one-quarter of all divorces.

By the time that they reach middle age, many men and women will have established careers, property and other assets. Their children – if they have any – may also have left home and so the number of strands holding a relationship together may be reduced.

There is another, increasingly obvious factor; namely, that people have greater expectations of greater life expectancy.

Last March, it was revealed that the average age for men and women in the UK is now 78.8 and 82.8 years respectively (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/bulletins/nationallifetablesunitedkingdom/2021to2023additionaldata)

I don’t think that we should be startled, therefore, that individuals towards or at the end of their working lives review their lives and want a change.

Many middle-aged women who we have represented believe divorce to be the start of something new and exciting rather than simply the end of a relationship or the beginning of the end of their lives.

The very Supreme Court case which precipitated ‘no-fault’ divorce was brought by a woman in her sixties, Tini Owens, who wanted to leave what she claimed was an unhappy marriage (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-44949856).

I should point out, though, that stepping out of a marriage and into a newly single life presents challenges all of its own.

Research by one leading insurance company earlier this year found that women face greater financial challenges than their male counterparts after divorce (https://group.legalandgeneral.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/the-divorce-gap-women-see-their-household-income-cut-in-half-in-the-year-after-a-divorce).

It is one reason why there is now so much emphasis on making sure that the fair division of marital assets which is the objective of all financial remedy proceedings includes consideration of any available pensions.

A Pensions Advisory Group was, in fact, set up in 2017 to help family judges and lawyers understand all the relevant issues associated with pensions.

Its second and most recent report, published last year, expressed the desire to determine arrangements which would provide both spouses with the foundations of financial security when they part (https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/A-guide-to-the-treatment-of-pensions-on-divorce-2nd-edition.pdf).

That was critical, said Sir Andrew McFarlane, the country’s most senior family judge, because the “world of pensions does not stand still”.

This is something which Hall Brown has been alive to for some time. We work with a variety of specialists, including financial advisors, to equip clients with a grasp of what the post-marriage future may hold and how best to approach it, given their individual circumstances and attitudes.

Divorce may well be regarded by some middle-aged men and women as a relief but I would argue that is only truly the case when the rest of one’s life has been thought through and provided for.