Family law attorneys who have been practicing for a while typically notice a pattern in divorce: there seems to be an uptick in marital splits in January. Is there really an increase in divorce and financial settlements at the beginning of the year or do divorces simply seem more noticeable for some reason?
Is January “Divorce Month”?
Data does, in fact, show that there is an increase in divorce filings in most jurisdictions during January. A CNN article points to not only divorce filing statistics but also web searches on terms such as “child custody”. However they also indicate that although there is a surge in January the real peak in filings seems to occur in March. Analysts believe it is because one spouse starts thinking about divorce as the new year dawns, but doesn’t go through with the filing until a couple of months later. But why does this spike occur at this time of year?
New Year’s Resolutions
It is common for people to take stock of their lives and try to start fresh every year. These goals might include losing weight, making a budget, embarking on a new career — or ending a marriage. Couples in a bad relationship may finally have to admit the situation can’t be saved, and may decide it’s time to break it off and move on. However there may be more than simply resolutions at work here.
Holiday Blues
November and December are traditionally a time when families get together to celebrate but as many people know they can also be a time where old arguments resurface. The stress of the holidays can reveal the fractures in a relationship and force a couple to face up to the problems between them. A weak marriage might collapse under the stress of these holidays.
In addition, if a couple decides to get divorced late in the year, who wants to tarnish holiday gatherings with a recent split? If the spouses can agree to call a truce then it might be in the best interest of the children to give them one last family year of family holidays before taking that final step.
Family law attorneys armed with Easysoft’s Divorce Financials software can counsel couples considering a split, no matter what time of year they come by. Specialized divorce software for attorneys can help a spouse decide if a divorce makes financial sense, and if now is the right time for the split.
