Divorce Day: Why is January so popular for divorces?

It is a common belief and widely reported in the media that January is the most popular time of the year for married couples to start divorce proceedings. Here, McAlister Family Law Trainee, Adele Mawdsley, looks at some of the reasons why divorce rates are known to peak after the Christmas break.

Does Christmas Play A Part?

One suggestion is that there is a significant amount of stress on parents to create the ‘Perfect Christmas’ for their children. One of the biggest stresses in day-to-day life, especially at Christmas time, is financial stress.

Christmas time is hard on a lot of parents financially. According to the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysis, Money issues are responsible for 22% of all divorces, which can be magnified at Christmas especially with the ongoing cost of living crisis we are facing in the UK right now.

Couples may delay divorce proceedings until the new year to avoid disruption to their family. There can be a lot of pressure on couples, at Christmas, to look and act the part for their children and families. If you take away the Christmas gloss, couples may begin to notice substantial cracks in their relationship and the Christmas period can shine a light on their struggling situation, with them glad they made it through this period. Sadly, some come to the realisation that the marriage has come to an end.

The narrative of the media is that couples have admitted to staying with their other half for their children’s sake. Further to this couples have also reported in the media that they stay together for Christmas, so the children were not disturbed during the festive season. This could be why we see a significant rise in divorces on “Divorce Day” in January.

What is ‘Divorce Day’?

So-called “Divorce Day” falls on the first working Monday of the new year, this year it will fall on 8^th January 2024. This day is known by legal professionals as the day which reportedly sees a surge of new enquires from couples who wish to apply for a divorce after the Christmas period. Statistics show that women are more likely to apply for divorce than men during this period, with 63.1% of divorces being instigated by women.

“Divorce Day” is a term used in the media to highlight the rise in cases in the new year but, obviously, divorces are issued all year round, with spikes being seen at other notable times of the year, like September after the summer holidays, for example. The rise in cases after school holidays may be because couples spend more time together then or they may have one last attempt at their marriage, which sadly has not worked.

Spending time with family

Some couples find it particularly hard to be cooped up at home, spending time with extended family members that they might not be used to spending time with, at Christmas time. The Christmas period can often highlight the realisation of how family life could be and what difficulties they are facing. This can put a lot of pressure on couples and, when the Christmas dust has settled, it pushes some couples towards separation.

‘New Year New Me’

Everyone has their new year’s resolutions when we enter into a new year. People want a fresh start and if their marriage is already under strain, they may form a plan to separate. therefore leading to a potential spike in new divorce enquires in January.

Divorce

So, what do you do if you are thinking of separation or even divorce? Get advice from an expert. Our team of specialist divorce solicitors can advise you about the divorce procedure.

The new law divorce law, which came into force in April 2022, more commonly known as ‘No fault divorce’ removes the requirement to assign blame and provide evidence of conduct or separation to obtain a divorce. This will hopefully allow your divorce to be more amicable.

If you or someone you know is affected by the issues raised in this blog post, we can provide you with expert legal advice. For more information, please get in touch with our specialist team at hello@mcalisterfamilylaw.co.uk

Do people go into marriage with their eyes wide open?

When people get married, it’s a whirlwind of romance, excitement and planning the big day. The average modern wedding takes about 11 months to plan, over 528 hours (22 whole days). But how much do the to-be-weds understand about the legal and financial implications of marriage? Here, Frances Bentley looks at how couples can go into marriage with their eyes wide open.

Being in the process of planning my own wedding, I can certainly believe the amount of time that goes into it. It is hard not to get swept up in planning the actual wedding day, and sometimes there is a much lesser focus on what marriage actually means after the big day.

As a divorce lawyer, when clients come to me, they say that they did not understand or appreciate the legal and financial implications of marriage when going into it. It begs the question as to whether there should be more education about it before people get married.

It might seem obvious that marriage means a sharing of each other’s lives, hopefully forever, so maybe it isn’t needed. However, if things don’t work out, a lot of people don’t often understand what would actually happen to their finances on divorce. Maybe it isn’t the most romantic thing to think or talk about before you get married, but actually understanding and knowing the implications might mean that people are going into marriage with their eyes open.

I think it is really healthy to have that conversation and so people know where they stand. In my view, it doesn’t undermine the fact that the plan is to stay together forever, and of course that is what the aim is. I actually think it is a bit of a red flag if your future spouse reacts badly to that conversation.

So how can you protect yourself financially if you are getting married?

One way that couples that are to be married can protect their financial position in the event of a future separation is to enter into a pre-nuptial agreement (or a post nuptial agreement if they are already married).

Nuptial agreements can detail what is going to happen with finances in the event of future divorce and whether, for example, one person’s inheritance, or assets brought into the marriage are to be “ringfenced” from any future division of assets on divorce. It allows both people entering into the marriage with knowledge of the other’s financial position and some clarity.

Whilst nuptial agreements are not technically legally binding in England and Wales, they are being upheld much more by the courts and are persuasive, as long as they have been entered into procedurally correctly, both parties have taken legal advice, and are considered to be “fair” to both parties. They can also be reviewed throughout the marriage to take into account any changes in circumstances and ensure that they remain to be “fair”.

On a divorce, the starting point legally or finances is a 50/50 division of all assets. The court would then look at whether or not that is fair, and whether there should be a departure from that starting point, taking into account a number of factors. The factors include what the parties or any children “need” financially, what contributions have been made prior to, during and after the marriage, the standard of living enjoyed amongst other factors, one being whether there has been any pre-nuptial agreement entered into and whether that should be upheld.

The court will look at what is fair and reasonable, in all of the circumstances of the case, and if, the pre-nuptial agreement remains to be fair and reasonable, it is very likely to be upheld and assets brought into the marriage are likely to be protected. It does therefore offer protection and clarity and an understanding of the other person’s financial position before the marriage.

If you need advice on this topic, or any other matters concerning divorce or family law, please get in touch with our team at McAlister Family Law.