Sharon Chandra: Prenups can be challenged

Now, we're going to talk about divorce.

And the reason is that statistics have just come out about New Zealand's latest divorce figures.

And that shows a small but very noticeable rise.

In 2025, 7,887 couples divorced.

That's up about 5% on the previous year.

Now, that is kind of surprising.

Because the long-term trend shows that less of us are actually even getting married at all.

And there has been a gradual decline in divorce numbers, but no, it's up 5%.

The divorce rate now sits at about 7.9 divorces per 1,000 existing marriages and civil unions.

17,000 couples got married in 2025, slight drop from 2024.

But if you look at the long-term patterns, the picture is a lot clearer.

The Stats New Zealand cohort data shows that around 5% of marriages end within five years, 15% within 10, and roughly a third within 25 years.

So put that all together, that means about 35 to 40% of New Zealand marriages ultimately end in divorce.

You may think it's not going to happen to you, and then it happens to you, and an awful lot of us.

So for those who do get married, over a third will not last.

And when that happens, one of the biggest hurdles to then leap is a fair and mutually acceptable and equitable division of assets without you wanting to scratch each other's eyes out.

And with the probability of marriage failure quite high, then we need to go into marriages aware of the possibility, aware of the impact that might have to your money and your assets if your union collapses.