Is It Your New Year’s Resolution to Get a Divorce?
In a piece recently reported by the CBC News, and well as a post from Huffington Post Canada it seems that January is the prime time of year for couples to initiate divorce, based on the number of court-filed applications. According to another article in the U.S. divorce filings begin to spike in January, and peak in February and March. January is when divorce lawyers report seeing a spike in consultations from disgruntled husbands and wives, who at least want to do some information-gathering, by exploring the various financial and child-related repercussions that a formal separation or divorce would entail. After that, according to the article, many who are willing to commit to a split will return in February or March to get the ball rolling. Similar trends have been reported in other articles.
So what’s behind the trend? Apparently, those in troubled partnerships will try to keep the status quo throughout the holidays – especially if children are involved – only to formally separate or embark on marital counselling once the festivities are over. The reason for this timing is largely (shall we say) “sentimental”: People don’t want to initiate divorce proceedings immediately before, or during, the holidays. They may not want to put a pall over what is ideally supposed to be a family-oriented, idyllic season of the year. Or, they may want to delay so that the family can have one final holiday together, before they split.
For others – especially those individuals who have already started to secretly contemplate divorce, or for those embattled couples who have begun to discuss the prospect between themselves – the “fresh start” quality of New Year, and the tradition of making resolutions, may prompt unhappy partners to re-evaluate their future and finally make the break they have been contemplating.
