WUNRN
International Business Times
Italy - Divorce Rates Surge Among Elderly After New Law Reduces Mandatory Separation
By Sarah Berger - August 17,
2015
Divorce rates among the elderly in
Italy have surged since a new law reduced the length of the divorce process. Getty Images
The divorce rate among the elderly in Italy has dramatically
increased, the Local, a European news network, reported Monday. The uptick in
divorce requests for people age 65 and older is now at 20 percent,
compared with 13 percent in 2010, the Italian Academy of Matrimonial
Lawyers says.
The increase follows
passage of a law in April that reduces the divorce process in an uncontested
case from three years to six months. Most elderly people who requested divorces
said they were afraid that they would not see the conclusion of the legal
process, the lawyers' group said, adding that reducing the mandatory separation
time made it possible for them to start a new life.
“Italians are changing dramatically. I don’t believe any
other country has seen the changes we have seen in the last 20 years,” Gian
Ettore Gassani, president and founder of the lawyers' group, told daily Il
Messaggero, the Local reported.
Divorce
requests among the elderly have dramatically increased in the past year in
Italy. Getty Images
There were 500,000 separation and divorce requests in 2014, and
the lawyers' group said the number has doubled since the new law took effect.
Most divorce requests come from the 44-to-54 age group, but divorce lawyers
said they were still surprised by the large number of requests coming from the elderly.
The majority of the divorce requests come from women, although
a 90-year-old retired male doctor in Umbria, Italy, sought a divorce in
order to marry a woman 30 years younger.
The lawyers' group expects to see an even bigger surge in divorce
requests in September and October, Gassani said.
“Couples come back from vacation where they have spent more time together and have fought and then they want to say goodbye,” Gassani said, the Local reported. “The same thing happens in January after Christmas."