Data obtained from 46 district courts show that from the beginning of January to the end of March this year almost 19 thousand. 889 divorce cases. This is almost the same as the same period last year, when there were 19,000. 873. On the other hand, comparing this year’s data and recorded at the beginning of 2020 (nearly 19 .3 thousand), we can see an increase of just over 3%. However, compared to the first three months of 2019 (over 21,500), there has been a recent decline of almost 8%.
– The differences compared to the previous three years are very small. And they do not reflect the scale of failed marriages in Poland, which was predicted last year due to the new experiences of couples confined to their homes due to the pandemic. Currently, many spouses in crisis are postponing lawsuits due to economic problems, including jointly paid and growing. mortgages. Additionally, a significant number of people are concerned about the costs associated with going to court. It should be remembered that over the past two years, some Poles have lost their businesses and had to, for example, come up with new ideas for life. And that’s what they focused their attention on, putting aside personal matters – says legal adviser Małgorzata Sokołowska, specializing in family cases.
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As noted by Michał Pajdak from the e-Psycholodzy platform, the joint conclusion of mortgage contracts, of which there are millions in Poland, can limit divorce decisions. Last year, there were 2.5 million active loan contracts, according to the expert. And he adds that it is more difficult to obtain a mortgage or even to rent an apartment with rising rental prices. That is why, unfortunately, some people still decide to choose a life partner under the pressure of economic reasons and social demands.
– There are still few Poles who come for legal advice on divorce who work on personal relationships beforehand, for example through therapy or family mediation, investing in repairing ties. Nevertheless, I have the impression that the number of people who, through widely available workshops, webinars and online courses or dynamically developing online support groups, individually deepen their knowledge of the causes of crises in relationships, recognizing the situation in which they find themselves, grows. However, it can be expected that to a large extent it is economic reasons, and not the desire to develop proximity, which inhibit the number of lawsuits – adds Małgorzata Sokołowska.
On the other hand, Michał Pajdak points out that the number of marriages in Poland is gradually decreasing. However, the number of divorce applications remains at a similar level year on year. In addition, the age of people getting married is increasing. The choice of a life partner must therefore be matured, but this is not always the case. The percentage of births outside marriage is steadily increasing. According to the expert, currently one in four children is born in an informal relationship. All this means that in the coming years the number of divorces will show a percentage increase in relation to the number of marriages.
– The divorce rate has remained about the same for several years. And there is no indication that their numbers will increase significantly one way or another. As you can see, even the pandemic itself has changed little here. And I’m certainly not inclined to conclude that we face a scourge of divorce lawsuits. One can be tempted to predict that in the future there will be even less of them, because marriages are contracted less and less – says lawyer Małgorzata Sokołowska.
Looking at the data from the individual district courts, it can be seen that in the analyzed period of this year. They received from nearly 150 to over a thousand divorce petitions. In the first quarter of this year, the highest number of such cases was registered in the district court of Poznań – 1296, Katowice – 1035, Warsaw – 1034, Gdańsk – 1003 and Kraków – 947. Warsaw-Praga district with a score of 850 is in 6th place.
– Most divorce applications are filed with courts located in the most populated urban areas. If we add the results of the two courts located in the capital, they would be almost 2,000 in total. However, the analysis shows that Poznań ranks first among cities with the highest number of such cases.
This can also be explained by the fact that these big cities are inhabited by people with uniform views who want to solve their family problems clearly and quickly. Here, the religious factors and the so-called social shame only in small towns. If a person makes sure that he knows what he needs in life and what is a source of frustration or even fear for himself and his children, he simply begins to act – lawyer Sokołowska comments.
In the first quarter of this year. the fewest divorce applications were filed with the district court in Łomża – 149, Przemyśl – 153, Tarnobrzeg – 184, Suwałki – 185, Krosno – 188 and also Tarnów – 199. As summarized by the expert of the ePsycholodzy platform .pl, the results of these courts have been influenced by the size of the cities in which they are located. The area of their activity was also important. The divorce rate is visibly lower in less urbanized areas, where religiosity and attachment to tradition are strongly reflected in decisions made by spouses.