For most family law attorneys, January is a month of heavy inquiries from people who have been considering divorce and are now ready to begin the process. Why is January different than other january divorcemonths as it relates to the number of divorce filings? It likely has something to do with the new year and new beginnings, but it also has a lot to do with people not wanting to ruin the holidays by separating or filing for divorce.

A January 2015 Market Watch article points out that divorce attorneys are kept quite busy after the holidays. “The surge happens on Divorce Monday,” says James McLaren, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “We see a significant increase in people seeking out divorce advice and, ultimately, filing. The number of filings is one-third more than normal. That begins in January and probably goes into early March.”

Upticks in the volume of people signing up for dating websites in January also bolsters the notion that people in bad relationships are ready to move on. According to Match.com, one of America’s most heavily trafficked dating websites with 2.8 million subscribers in North America, January 4th was the busiest day of the year for online dating. This site also reported a 38% jump in registrations between December and February.

Realistically speaking, there isn’t a perfect month to finally separate and tell your children, family, and friends that your marriage is over.  However, one can certainly see the practicality of making it through one more Thanksgiving and Christmas in a failed marriage and then taking action after the decorations have been taken down and January harkens in the normalcy of old routines.

If you made it through another holiday season in a failed marriage and are now ready to take action, you should seek the services of an experienced, competent divorce lawyer. Contact Donna Wagner for a free consultation.