The Western Cape has the highest divorce rate in the country, and more women than men are filing for divorce.
According to Statistics South Africa’s annual marriage and divorce stats, a total of 23.8% of couples are filing for divorce.
“In 2017, 25 390 completed divorce forms were processed, indicating an increase of 0.3% from the 25 326 processed in 2016.
“There were more female, 12 938, than male, 8 878, plaintiffs. The median ages at divorce in 2017 were 44 years for men and 40 years for women.
“The findings show that four in 10 divorces, came from marriages that did not reach their 10th wedding anniversary.
“In 2017, there were 14 121 divorces with children aged under 18 years affected.”
The Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape were the provinces with the highest number of divorces granted, contributing more than 77% of the divorces granted in 2017.
The highest percentage of divorces were from the black African group at 44.5% and more wives were initiating divorce proceedings.
According to Family Law, a website with free information about divorce, parental rights and responsibilities, maintenance and child support, an uncontested divorce can cost anything from R800 to R20 000.
It said the cost mostly depends on the complexity of the divorce settlement agreement and the complexity surrounding the care of any minor children.