Infertility and Separation

Separation Agreements - Contemporary marriage and family relationships are formed and maintained in an environment of greater choice in how people can live their lives than has been possible for past generations. The social environment of marriage today encompasses the legal recognition of a variety of personal relationships and sexual behaviours, the removal of the social stigma of illegitimacy and divorce, the availability of effective contraception, the enactment of sex discrimination legislation to provide equal access for women to education and employment opportunities, and the availability of financial support for sole parenting. Several methodological problems and conceptual issues warrant brief mention. First, while the survey design can detect associations between the main reason given for marital dissolution and other factors, it cannot determine the direction of these associations - that is, causality. Thus no claim can be made that certain factors lead to the marital dissolution or vice versa. Second, as the focus of the study was post-separation transitions and consequences, it did not examine how the quality and stability of marriages may change over time, an important consideration in the development of early intervention strategies to prevent marriage breakdown.

Third, since respondents were asked to nominate only the main reason for their divorce from a pre-coded checklist, there was no opportunity for the analysis to cluster responses into more thematic dimensions which could further illuminate the multiple threads to perceived marriage breakdown. The category 'other' did provide for an open-ended response which resulted in several codes being added to the checklist and to the ability to infer meanings from the codes. Nor did the reasons look at separation agreements and what those couples had to say. Fourth, as with most studies of marital separation, the information is based on retrospective self-reports. The accuracy of the information is thus dependent not only on respondents' candour, but also on recollections of facts and feelings that may have occurred years before and at a time when respondents were under stress. However, current perceptions of these reasons can be important in their own right for they may well influence evaluation of current and future circumstances, including subsequent relationships. Fifth, the unit of analysis was a spouse - not a couple - from a dissolved marital union. Moreover, scant information was obtained about respondents' former spouses. Thus there are limits to checking the accuracy of the data or to clarifying whether men's and women's understanding and perceptions were shared.

Finally, since not everyone is accessible by telephone, the omission of certain groups of people in the population available through telephone surveys sets limits on the generalisations that can be made from the data to the UK population at large. Among those who are often systematically excluded in such surveys are the very poor, those with unlisted numbers.

An equal division of assets on marital separation through a divorce or separation agreement is by no means the inevitable outcome. If an agreement cannot be reached the outcome is down to the discretion of a judge about what is fair in all the circumstances. As a result it is difficult for lawyers to predict with accuracy how assets will be divided. Efforts to reach agreed solutions can be frustrated by husband and wife getting conflicting legal opinions about the likely end result.

An important element of the process is the involvement of other experts, where appropriate, including accountants, financial advisers and family consultants (those from a therapeutic or counselling background) who can work with the couples to help to deal with the emotional fallout of the family breakdown and the arrangements for the children. However, these are almost never needed in the cases where marital separation is accompanied by a separation agreement. It is clear from the cases upon which we have collaborated that the clients’ desire to co-parent in the future was every bit as important as the achievement of a financial settlement that was fair. Clients who consult with a family lawyer usually have no experience of divorce. They have little knowledge of the divorce process and are often unprepared for the psychological challenges that inevitably accompany divorce and the effect their emotions may have on their decision-making abilities. They know little about the impact of divorce on children and may have given little thought on breaking the news to their children. A divorcing client may be fearful about the future and regard his or her spouse with suspicion and mistrust.