HAS COVID INCREASED THE DIVORCE RATE IN THE HUDSON VALLEY?
August 9, 2021
Many people have asked us whether there is an increase in divorce since the shutdown of 2020. Although it is too early to really know, it seems to us that it may not be so, even though we have been very busy since July of 2020.
In Dutchess County there are usually about 1000 divorces per calendar year resolved by the Court. In 2020, the Courts and law offices were not operating at full strength for much of the year. Only 721 divorce cases were filed, and only 581 divorces were granted. During the first half of 2021 the Courts and law offices may not have been fully operational, so there may continue to be a lower number of divorces filed this year. As a result, we may seem an explosion of new filings in late 2021 and 2022, but the average number of divorces over the three or four year period between 2020 – 2024 may not show an increase in divorces after all.
