Divorces total 12,395

Press, 7 May 1983, Page 8

Divorces total 12,395

PA Wellington A total of 12,395 marriages ended in divorce or dissolution in 1982, according to the Statistics Department. In the 12 months to last September, 25,333 couples were married. Marriage figures are available only for the year to September. The most common ground for ending a marriage was irretrievable breakdown, the only ground allowed under the new Family Proceedings Act. Although the act came into force on October 1, 1981, outstanding petitions for divorce were still granted on grounds allowed under the old legislation. The act also replaced the term “divorce” with “dissolution of marriage.” Adultery was the ground for divorce in 317 cases and

desertion occurred in 53. A further 452 couples were granted a divorce after living apart for four or more years. Most divorces were granted on the grounds of a separation agreement or a separation by court order. People under the age of 18 were involved in 7975 of the marriage breakdowns. In 3346 cases there were two children, in 2698 one child, and in 1427 marriages there were three children. Children were not involved in 4420 marriages. Breakdowns were less common in larger families. Only 399 couples with four children divorced and 105 couples with five or more children. During the last 10 years, divorces have more than trebled in number, while marriages have fallen in popularity.