Trapped by the credit crunch?

There is an assumption that the recession will result in an increase in the divorce rate as money worries force relationships to collapse under financial pressure.

The dive in house prices has left couples adrift with consent orders that cannot be implemented and a change in outlook is needed. I foresee that there will be an increase in orders in which one party retains the house and the other has a charge on it and that there will be an increase in spousal maintenance orders - less assets available to purchase a clean break!!!

What happens when couples can't afford to divorce? Maybe we will go the way of Southern Ireland - when it was difficult to get a divorce they divided the house in two - I predict that lots more people will live separate lives in the same house and there will be an increase in planning applications to convert houses into flats!!!