High price of divorce

Ending a marriage proves as costly as paying for one

Divorce costs on average nearly £13,000 with more than a third of people having to sell their home, says new research.

A total of 40% of divorcees surveyed for Norwich Union said they would never marry again.

Almost half of those questioned said divorce was more stressful than bereavement or redundancy.

With more than 157,000 divorces in Britain each year, 41% of divorcing couples surveyed said they spent more than £6,000 each on splitting up.

Pre-nuptial agreement

The research found maintenance payments were paid or received by fewer than a third of divorcees.

A total of 20% of the 280 people questioned said they spent money on luxuries they would not have bought if still married such as a holiday or shopping spree.

More than a quarter of people said they wished they had signed a pre-nuptial agreement but only 2% had done so.

Of the 60% who ended their marriage amicably, almost all said it made no difference to the final cost.

On average, divorcees who took legal advice paid £1,668 in lawyers' fees, while half of people (51%) spent £2,638 on setting up a new home.

More than a third relied on family for support, a third turned to their friends, and 7% went to support organisations or counsellors.

A spokeswoman for Norwich Union said: "We undertook this research to try and understand our customers' spending patterns so that we can help them plan for the future."