Divorces Surge During Coronavirus Pandemic, Newlyweds See Big Rise In Separation

Divorce during the coronavirus pandemic is on the rise, according to data collected by legal document provider Legal Templates.

According to the report, divorce agreement sales increased by 34% compared to the same period in 2019. Legal Templates cited the strain of quarantine, unemployment, financial strain, death of loved ones, illness, homeschooling children, and mental illness as some of the stressors leading to divorce during the pandemic.

Interest in separation peaked during stay-at-home orders with April 13, seeing a 57% increase compared to Feb. 13 – just 15-20 days in most states’ official quarantine mandate, the company reported.

Newlyweds were hit the hardest as the study indicated that 58% of people seeking a divorce during the coronavirus pandemic were married within the last five years, up from 16% in 2019. Those that were married five months or less also had divorce of their minds as data showed that nearly 20% of Legal Template’s users purchased a divorce agreement compared to 11% in 2019.

Southern states also didn’t fare well as they were far more likely to seek out a divorce that most other states. The Southern states of Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Louisiana had a two to three times higher divorce rate than the rest of the U.S., the study said.

These states were also some of the hardest hit by the coronavirus, with 50% of the workforce employed in “high-risk of layoff occupations,” according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Married couples that had children younger than 18 traditionally are less likely to divorce, but during the pandemic, 45% of these couples completed Legal Templates’ divorce agreement, up 5% over the same period last year.