Every January, newspapers are dominated by ‘divorce day’ headlines. However, is there such a thing? Research shows that so-called ‘divorce day’ is nothing but a myth. That’s not to say there aren’t spikes in divorce petitions at certain times of the year, but it’s not just in January when divorce applications rise.
Ahead of an expected surge in divorce petitions following the end of the school summer holidays in the UK, we wanted to dispel the myth of so-called ‘divorce day’. The first Monday of January is often dubbed ‘divorce day’.
According to charity, Relate, “the first Monday in January is when lawyers and law firms receive a surge of new enquiries from couples about divorce.” However, many family lawyers have moved to dispel this misconception.
In fact, for 2021, the number of divorce filings made in March was 21% higher than January, according to recent research. Meanwhile, research has shown that March, June and July are the ‘busiest’ months in terms of divorce petitions.
Divorce day and school terms
Most divorce petitions are centred around school terms.
According to research cited by Today’s Family Lawyer, the timing of most divorce petitions tends to centre around school terms, rather than Christmas and New Year.
In addition to March, June and July, September has become a busy month for petitions. Why? The school summer holidays tend to be the final straw for a lot of marriages because a combination of pressure (juggling work and child commitments), expense and too much time together are often the breaking point for marriages already under strain.
However, amid the coronavirus pandemic, there was a huge surge in petitions across the year as marriages already in turmoil were faced with lockdown, increasing the amount of time spent together under the same roof.
Many unhappy parties in a marriage often consider a new school year to be a fresh start, and often have capacity to instruct a family lawyer because the children are back at school.
January a difficult month
The much-peddled theory that January is the most common month for divorces is a myth.
While there is some truth to January being a difficult month for unhappy couples, the much-peddled theory that it’s the most common month for a marriage to end is a myth. More and more divorce applications tend to align with school terms.
This is often due to parents wanting to limit the impact on their children as much as possible. With children at school, a parent can make calls to a family lawyer and deal with the paperwork discreetly.
Marriages getting shorter
Marriage lengths are getting shorter.
In addition to dispelling the ‘divorce day’ myth, the research cited by Today’s Family Lawyer also highlighted that marriages are getting shorter. On average, most couples are now divorcing after 12.3 years of marriage.
Meanwhile, the average age of divorce for a man is 47.7 years, and for women it’s 45.3 years. Of the people who got married in 1989, 44% are no longer together. For those who married in 1999, 37% have split, while 19% of those who got married in 2009 have since parted ways.
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