Four out of ten divorced marriages in Austria: 2020 divorce year threatens – Coronavirus Vienna

In Austria 16,319 marriages were divorced the previous year, thus the divorce rate remained at the level of previous years. “About four out of ten marriages in Austria end up before the divorce judge sooner or later,” Statistics Austria CEO Tobias Thomas said in a broadcast on Wednesday.

At 44.4 percent, the value was highest in Lower Austria, which replaced Vienna at the top.

Across Austria, the overall divorce rate in 2019 was 40.7 percent, only slightly below the level of the previous two years (41.0 percent) and well below the previous high of 49.5 percent. in 2007, Thomas reported. In addition, 121 registered companies were dissolved in the previous year, 23.5 percent more than in 2018.

The statistics also include eight same-sex divorces for the first time. They were separations of four male and four female partners. In the case of registered couples, there were two dissolutions of couples of the opposite sex.

After Lower Austria, Vienna had the second highest divorce rate (44.1 percent), occupying the top negative position since 1991. Vorarlberg and Burgenland (each 42.9 percent) and Carinthia (41.2 percent). cent) came in second. In Salzburg (38.3 percent), Upper Austria (37.8 percent) and Styria (37.3 percent), the overall divorce rate was below the Austrian average. In Tyrol, the overall divorce rate was the lowest at 34.9 percent, as it had been since 2017.

86.3 percent of all divorces in the previous year were by mutual consent. Of the total of 1,913 disputed divorced marriages, 49.9 percent of the men were at fault, 9.9 percent of the women, 28.3 percent of both and 12.0 percent of neither. both.

The mean (median) duration of divorced marriages in 2019 was 10.5 years, slightly below the 2018 level (10.6 years). 1.9 percent of divorces took place during the first year of marriage and another 4.5 percent during the second year of marriage. About one in seven divorces (13.5 percent) occurred after the silver wedding anniversary (25th wedding anniversary), including up to 44 official separations after the golden wedding anniversary (50th wedding anniversary).

The median age of divorce for men increased by 0.1 years to 45.3 years in 2019 and for women by 0.2 years to 42.1 years compared to the previous year. A total of 18,474 children were affected by the divorce of their parents, 12,823 of them minors. Former partners thus had an average of 1.13 children.

Statistics Austria did not yet have data for the previous year 2020.

Lawyer Clemens Gärner of the Viennese family law firm Gärner Perl spoke on a broadcast on Wednesday of a 2020 “divorce year” due to the crown crisis. “Summer is a very strong time for divorces. But this summer we saw an increase in the divorce rate of another 30 percent,” Gärner emphasized.

However, this also includes divorces initiated by people who planned to do so before the crown crisis. Others, however, only realized that they did not want to continue with this marriage ”, explained the lawyer.

In addition, cases of violence in the family increased during this phase ”. And ultimately, it was during this time that many of them found relevant information – for example, evidence that their partner was cheating on them.

Gärner estimates that 80 percent of marriages fail due to cheating. “As has been shown, issues quickly become apparent during mutual social isolation. Because today many tests are digital, for example, photos on the cell phone or WhatsApp messages. During the Corona period, some people became careless, practically cheated in front of their partner and then left their own cell phone unlocked, “Gärner analyzes.

Due to the summer vacation time, the number of divorce filings has increased again. “Instead of going by car, this year, for the second time, many people spent time together at home. Some of those who left had a lot of stress at the borders. This again strains some relationships,” says the expert.

The increased volume of divorces hits courts that have yet to deal with the backlog of cases and can only offer limited space. “At best there will only be trial dates for disputed divorces in November, next year is more likely,” says Gärner. Consensual divorces tend to be quicker, so it helps if the attorney is heavily involved in family law and has good contact with the judges.

Gärner recommends seeking legal assistance on divorce plans as soon as possible to start the process. “Due to the waiting times in court, you should expect your own divorce to be delayed as well.”