Following a decade of decline in the number of failed marriages, London law firm Mishcon de Reya has reported an increase in the provisional divorce rate in England and Wales, mirroring a trend last seen during the recession of the early 1990s.

According to Sandra Davis, head of family law at the firm, economic instability is a significant driver for marriage failure. 

"The divorce rate peaked in 1993 coinciding with the nadir of the last recession.  As the economy picked up, so the rate fell. With the Bank of England releasing the gloomiest growth forecasts for more than a decade and diversionary therapeutic spending on the wane, it's no surprise divorce is on the increase again", Ms Davis told WealthBriefing.

First to feel the financial impact of the current economic downturn has been the financial services sector; according to Ms Davis this has led investment bankers and their spouses to seek her advice on their financial expectations on divorce.

"Whilst money often papers over the cracks of an unhappy marriage, financial worries concentrate the mind. Some of my female clients tell me they worry that their spending may become constrained. Cashing in their financial entitlement on divorce is seen as a means to loosen the purse strings.

“Conversely, my male clients are weighing up whether it will be cheaper to end their unhappy marriages now whilst the market - and therefore their paper wealth - is in decline."