March divorce applications 21% higher than January
- uncategorised
Jennifer van Deursen- 1
- 2 minutes read
Typically, the media cite that January is ‘divorce month’ something that is propelled due to people setting themselves New Year’s Resolutions of a new year, new start.
Those in the family law sector has strongly opposed this perception and have taken numerous stances to demonstrate that new year resolutions don’t produce high divorce levels.
According to data released by the Ministry of Justice which cites the number of divorce applications. The number of applications filed in March 2021 was 21% higher than January.
In fact, January has the second lowest number of petitions filed (182,080) after December (147,706).
After March, July is the second most common month for divorces with 206,033 applications filed, followed by June (204,986).
Upon analysis of the data, Boodle Hatfield shared their views, explaining that divorce applications usually centred around school term times as opposed to Christmas and new year.
Emily Brand, Partner in the family law team at Boodle Hatfield, who spoke to City A.M. said:
“The much-peddled theory of January being the most common month for divorces is a myth.
“It’s true that January can be a difficult month for couples who aren’t getting along well. Pressures around the Christmas holidays can lead to heightened tensions but this doesn’t necessarily lead to spouses filing for divorce immediately.
“The most popular months for divorce align with school term times. This could be largely due to parents wanting their separation to have as little impact on their children as possible and to ensure that any calls with their lawyers and paperwork are carried out discreetly while the children are safely at school.”
1 Comment
When we undertook legal aid work clients would come in to see us for divorce in January. I once did five injunctions in the first four working days in January. However, now that we only offer privately paying divorces I have noticed that clients come in in the last week of February. I’m assuming that they are paying off credit cards from the Christmas spend in January and waiting until pay day in February. As there are fewer firms offering legal aid and as it’s now more difficult to qualify for the same, I’m assuming that my experience is replicated across the country. The same applies in October, folks having paid off their holiday spend in September.