The Christmas holiday season is almost here, but we’re also approaching another landmark date in the United States. Did you know that January is often referred to as “Divorce Month”?
The reason for this nickname is that January is when divorce cases tend to spike. There will be a sudden influx of filings as many couples decide to end their relationships. Why does this happen in January? Below are two reasons.
New Year’s resolutions
To start with, many people make New Year’s resolutions and try to take major steps to change their lives in January. For some, this just means they want to get a new hobby, learn a new skill, find a new job or lose weight. But for others, it may mean reassessing their personal relationship and determining if they would be happier ending their marriage. The new year can serve as a catalyst to make someone finally take this step if they’ve been thinking about it for some time.
Avoiding Christmas
Beyond that, many couples are just avoiding Christmas – and, for that matter, Halloween and Thanksgiving. The fall season contains a lot of holidays and family events. Many people, especially parents of young children, don’t want to go through a divorce during the holidays. They still want to end the marriage, but they’ll put it off until January rolls around, and then they will file for divorce at the start of the new year.
If you and your partner decide to get divorced this year, be sure you know exactly what steps to take and what rights you have when determining property division, child custody and more.