September divorce surge anticipated

Practitioners are predicting the usual September surge in divorces as the Summer holidays come to a close.

The Ministry of Justice’s online divorce service showed its busiest day in 2019 was September 30.

Statistics released earlier in the year show divorce petitions up by 2% in January to March 2021 compared to the same period in the previous year. Decree absolutes remain similar in January to March 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.

So-called “Divorce Day” often dominates headline in January but research by law firm Boodle Hadfield has quashed the myth. The number of applications filed in March 2021 was 21% higher than January.

January has the second lowest number of petitions filed (182,080) after December (147,706), while the busiest months are March, July and June.

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, 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.”

Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown:

“The summer holidays can be the final straw for a marriage, because it brings an impossible combination of pressure, expense and far too much time together. Once we go back to work in September, there tends to be a surge in divorces.”

“There are all kinds of reasons why summer holidays push us to the limit. We spend more time in each other’s company than normal, which can highlight the flaws in any relationship. We also tend to spend more money, so if that’s a trigger point for arguments, an expensive holiday can make matters even worse. We also feel under pressure to have a good time, which can exacerbate problems when we’re struggling.

“When we’re back home, many people feel that the new school year is time for a fresh start. But equally, the decision to start proceedings can be down to logistics, because parents finally have the time and space to visit a lawyer, and where children start school for the first time, childcare becomes less of an uphill battle.”

The average age of divorce is 47.7 years for men and 45.3 years for women. On average, we divorce 12.3 years after marriage. 44% of people who got married in 1989 are now divorced, as are 37% of those who married in 1999 and 19% of those married in 2009.