Divorce Day: Why is January so popular for divorces?

Posted on 8th January 2024 by McAlister Family Law

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

Am I entitled to continue the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed if I divorce?

Posted on 13th July 2023 by McAlister Family Law

Am I entitled to continue the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed if I divorce?

The end of a marriage often leads to a lot of financial worry for those involved. One factor that many are concerned about is will they be able to continue to afford the lifestyle that they had with their spouse during the marriage. Here, McAlister Family Law Partner, Fiona Wood, looks at what the judges will consider when dealing with the financial aspects of a divorce.

When a financial settlement is made in divorce proceedings the judge will have to look at dividing the capital assets and pension assets in a way that meets both spouse’s capital needs (this is usually housing needs, paying debts and funding retirement – if there are reasonable pension provisions). Once the Judge decides what capital and pension assets the spouses will have, they can then consider if one spouse needs spousal maintenance from the other, or a capital sum in lieu of spousal maintenance, to assist them to meet their needs.

A judge has to consider the lifestyle that the couple enjoyed during their marriage, when considering what a fair settlement is. However, if the couple’s assets and incomes are modest, inevitably both their lifestyles will be negatively impacted by them divorcing. The greater the couple’s assets and income the more likely they will receive a financial settlement that allows them to continue the lifestyle that they had during the marriage.

When dealing with the financial aspects of divorce it is usual for both spouses to state how much they need to buy a house, if they are not saying that they want to stay living in the family home. Where there is less capital, both of the couple may have to downsize as part of their divorce settlement. If there are more assets one may be able to keep the family home and the other purchase another property of a similar value. The value of a house that is suitable for each spouse depends upon the couple’s assets and can be a point of dispute between the couple.

Divorcing spouses also need to state their income needs. Not only does this include essential expenditure such as mortgage payments, food and utility bills, it can also include less essential expenditure such as holidays, entertainment, gardeners etc. Those with significant wealth have huge schedules of income needs, including staff, private jets and the funding of several properties. If the couple cannot agree their settlement and a judge has to adjudicate on the issue, it is likely that they will be asked about their stated income needs and to justify them. To justify them they need to show that this is the level that you and your spouse spent at during the marriage. It is the lifestyle that you had.

Judges are critical of those spouses whose income needs are more of a wish list than a reflection of the lifestyle enjoyed during the marriage. For example if you and your spouse only had one holiday a year in Europe, if you are now saying that you need sufficient money from your spouse to fund several holidays a year, including long haul destinations, a judge is unlikely to say that this is reasonable.

You are not automatically entitled to continue the lifestyle to which you have become accustomed if you divorce, but the lifestyle that you enjoyed as a couple is relevant, and if there is sufficient capital and income it is likely to be maintained,

If you are worried about your financial future if you divorce, you should take advice from an expert family lawyer.

Love is blind… but what if it’s short?

Posted on 16th November 202224th January 2023 by McAlister Family Law

Love is blind… but what if it’s short?

With both Nick Thompson & Danielle Ruhl (Love is Blind season 2) and Mackenzie Scott & Dan Jewett (the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos and her new husband) set to divorce, the topic of short marriages is one that is bound to be on their minds. Both couples married in 2021 and are in the process of bringing their marriages to a legal end. Here, Heather Lucy looks at how the length of a marriage may affect how assets are split upon divorce.

Both of the couples named above are based in the US but those thinking of divorce in England and Wales may be wondering whether the length of their marriage might impact their potential financial settlements on divorce.

There are no hard and fast rules, or formulas, that state how assets should be divided on divorce. The starting point for the court is that the assets should be divided equally, but they will then consider if there are reasons for moving away from an equal split, for example if assets are considered to be non-matrimonial, such as inherited assets or potentially assets acquired before the marriage. The court will also look at whether each person’s needs would be met by an even split. In making their decision, the court looks at the factors in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 which is a checklist of what they should consider. The primary consideration will be the welfare of any children of the marriage and other factors include the couple’s ages and the standard of living during the marriage. The latter would likely bode well for Mr Jewett if he were divorcing in England and Wales considering Ms Scott’s circa $34 billion net worth.

One of the factors to be considered under the Section 25 checklist is the length of the marriage. For the purposes of divorce, any time spent living together immediately prior to the marriage is added to the length of time since ‘I do’ to work out the length of the relationship. There are no set definitions of ‘long marriages’ or ‘short marriages’. Marriages of 10 + years may be seen to be in the ‘long marriage’ territory and one lasting 5 years or less is generally seen to fit the description of a short marriage.

Spouses in a long marriage are seen to have more financial interconnectedness and their assets are more likely to be considered ‘mingled’. This means that the court is more likely to be persuaded that an equal division of the assets is the right approach.

If spouses in a short marriage have no children and are both earning, the court may decide that it is fair to move away from splitting their assets down the middle and instead try return each person to the financial position they were in prior to the marriage. This is made even more likely if the couple had kept their finances separate during the marriage. It is also more likely that divorcing spouses will be able to ‘ring-fence’ assets/property they have brought to the marriage which means that they are kept out of the ‘pot’ being divided. The court will also heavily favour a ‘clean break’ if the marriage was short, if there are no young children, as they will want to cut financial ties between the divorcing couple. This means that it is unlikely that regular payments from one person to the other (maintenance) would be ordered, though it is not impossible.

It is important to remember that the court will look at what each person needs. You might have a short marriage and have no children but, if a move away from equality would mean the other person cannot meet this housing and income needs, the court are unlikely to be persuaded that an equal division of the assets is not the right course of action.