Divorce Day: Couples Most Likely To Split In January.

Friday, January 16th, 2015

New year, new spouse? The first week back at work means “Divorce Day” for the legal sectors, as husbands and wives begin to contact solicitors over the Christmas break, as couples are most likely to split up in January.  People have had some time off to reflect over the holiday, it’s all very obvious stuff. They have spent weeks banged up with the children, the television, the in-laws. Then, they arrive back in the office and they think, right, that’s it, I finally have to deal with it.

People are making these kinds of decisions with a lot more care than before. We have seen many people, even those who have started the ball rolling to divorce, then change their minds.

The couples who do divorce are generally older, those who have been through a lot, perhaps owned a business together and then have decided to make a go of it alone.

Last year, searches for divorce on the Ministry of Justice’s website nearly doubled in January.

A demonstration by Fathers4Justice: Divorce can get messy around New Year, lawyers say

It sounds bizarre, but the weather is also a contributing factor. Last year people were cooped up because of the snow, this year the rain kept people in. January’s also the time when all the bills come in, and financial arguments about how much was spent over Christmas start, and all hell breaks loose.”

The Government has launched a new campaign to urge couples to consider mediation to avoid “traumatic” courtroom battles. The Government said it would pump a further £10 million into mediation services, which on average save publicly-funded clients £3,500 and take a quarter of the time. All too often money is wasted on expensive and traumatic court hearings that can take far too long to resolve – and that is why we want to help people to use mediation
a quicker and simpler approach which brings better outcomes. The new funding, which will bring the total spent in 2013 to £25 million, comes after changes to court processes last year which mean couples seeking a court order about child contact or a financial matter attend a mediation assessment session first.