Will Divorce Rate Increase with Covid-19

Recently I was quoted in Florida Trend magazine about divorce. Here are the thoughts that I had shared with them.

An increase in divorces could be another side effect of coronavirus. Along with being cooped up together at home, couples may be experiencing money problems due to a layoff, furlough or stock losses. “Even in the best of circumstances, this is a stressful situation,” says Robert Merlin, a family law attorney in Coral Gables. “People are being force to stay together when they don’t neccessarily want to be, and people are losing jobs or income.”

As happens after natural disasters, the pandemic inevitably will cause some couples to call it quits, says Merlin, who specializes in collaborative, or out-of-court, divorces. He predicts divorce caseloads will grow in the coming weeks and months. “When there’s a crisis like this, people think seriously about their future. This happened after Hurricane Andrew, as well,” he says. “A terrible catastrophe makes some peopie look seriously at whether to stay in a relationship that doesn’t meet all their needs.”