Throughout the year many couples take the decision to divorce for a huge variety of reasons. However, there is one day in particular when divorce lawyers are inundated with requests for representation and that day is known as divorce day.
When is divorce day?
Divorce day is generally on the first Monday in January. However, in 2017, due to the bank holidays, divorce day is on Tuesday 3rd January 2017. On this day divorce lawyers across the western world can expect to be very busy. It is a phenomenon that occurs annually and has done for many, many years.
Why does divorce day happen?
Divorce day occurs just after the Christmas holidays and there are two main reasons for this.
- Couples don’t want to split before Christmas due to family concerns, so delay splitting until after Christmas, even though they know it is inevitable.
- The extra pressures that Christmas brings about reveal huge cracks in relationships of which couples were previously unaware.
Staying together for Christmas
Many couples who are on a one-way path to divorce take the decision to delay the inevitable until after Christmas in order to protect their children at what is supposed to be a family time. You don’t have to have children to understand the importance of Christmas for them and giving them one last Christmas with both parents is something that many parents choose to do.
But it is not just couples with children who don’t want to split just before Christmas. As Christmas is a time to see extended family and close friends, many couples don’t want to face questioning over the turkey from distant aunts, or don’t want to be the gossip of the office Christmas party.
Preserving ‘normality’ over the festive period is the right decision for many couples, leaving them with the peace of January and February to organise their split.
When the cracks appear
Many couples who contact a solicitor on divorce day were not planning on it before Christmas, but something happened over the festive period to trigger the split.
There are a number of factors that make Christmas so much more difficult for struggling couples – the extra time spent together, the pressure on finances, visits from the in-laws, excess alcohol consumption and office party flirtations. All of this combined with a huge pressure to be happy and joyous and seeing your friends’ perfect Christmases on social media is the perfect storm for divorce.