January is often referred to as ‘Divorce Month’ as the UK courts receive its highest number of applications to dissolve marriages during this period. But what it is about this particular month that prompts couples to formally end their relationship?
Some of the reasons why January is ‘Divorce Month’
Too much time together at Christmas
Already fractured relationships come under intense pressure during the festive period with many employers operating a ‘Christmas shutdown’ for up to two weeks. This means couples will spend a great deal more time in one another’s company than they usually do, where minor irritants that might normally be overlooked can easily reach fever pitch.
Irritants are under the microscope
While it’s not unusual for couples to complain that their partner leaves the toilet seat up, or doesn’t help with the chores, this can really come under the microscope when they are together twenty-four hours a day for a couple of weeks, as opposed to just evenings and weekends. When you go to work and have your normal routine, you get a chance to calm down and by the time you see your partner again the issue is forgotten about; but this may not be the case when there is no escape!
Financial Pressure
It is a fact that financial pressure is a leading cause of conflict in relationships, and families now feel more obligated than ever to ‘put on a good show’ at Christmas. The expense of attending social events, buying gifts for extended family and the purchase of premium food for guests means that couples can often be at odds about how much of their household budget should be allocated to the festive season.
Waiting until ‘after Christmas’
Couples often realise in November or December that they want to end their marriage but feel that doing so close to Christmas would cause too much anguish for their children and wider family. With most people returning to work between the 2nd-6th January, and requiring a few days to get the paperwork in order – it is no surprise that the documents are commonly filed in January.
Brand new Data Revealed
LPS Solicitors Nationwide has surveyed a sample of Brits, asking which of their partner’s habits has annoyed them the most over the Christmas period, and the results might surprise you!
Asked to select which habits had annoyed them this Christmas, a staggering 44.05% of respondents cited ‘being on their phone too much’ as something that had annoyed them, with 25.45% advising this was the number one most annoying habit of all options given!
Coming in a close second, was ‘not helping with the household chores’ with 42.29% of respondents citing this as an irritant, and 16.07% indicating this had annoyed them the most.
Azhar Hussain, Head of Family Law here at LPS Solicitors says, “In recent years, we have seen a significant uplift in the number of divorce cases we handle where modern technology, gaming and social media are referenced in legal documents as a contributing factor in the breakdown of relationships.
Of course, when petitioning to divorce, we have to prove your marriage has broken down irretrievably and we do this by relying one or more of the five qualifying facts. While you cannot divorce your spouse for being on their phone too much, we often see these issues feature as a precursor to adultery and unreasonable behaviour, which are legitimate grounds for divorce”
Almost 1 in 5 have considered leaving their partner during Christmas 2019
Perhaps the most extraordinary data obtained from our research is that 17.72% of our respondents answered ‘Yes’ when asked “Have you considered leaving your partner during Christmas 2019?” Of our sample 69.33% of respondents were married, and 30.67% cohabiting.
If we can help you with Divorce Month 2019, why not get in touch with our experienced team who can help?