September Spike in Divorce Cases

Posted on August 31, 2016

September often sees a seasonal spike in parents getting advice on separation and divorce, often seeking a new start with the new term and having waited until the end of the school summer holidays.

In a recent survey by Relate almost one in five (18%) couples in the UK argue regularly or consider separating and post-holidays is a popular time to get advice from solicitors and or counsellors, with calls up 9% in September.

The family team at Pearson Solicitors have seen these annual trends for a number of years and are used to dealing with families at this time of year, offering them free half hour appointments in a twice weekly clinics at offices in Oldham and Ashton.

Tracy Crompton, a specialist in collaborative divorce at Pearsons said: “September is a fresh start, even though we are not at school it’s almost programmed into us to make changes at this time of year and parents with children often see this as a time to take action.”

Considering the Children In Divorce Cases

Tracy says collaboration can be the best way forward for divorcing families as it’s non-confrontational with negotiations done face-to-face rather than through the traditional court route.

“Through round table negotiations and by taking advice from a collaborative lawyer couples can save time, money and heartache. It’s divorce as amicable as possible under the circumstances providing a much better solution when children are involved by maintaining a good working relationship between parents,” she added.

Statistics show that 1 in 4 children will have separated parents by the time they reach 16 and the most recent figures suggest that 2.87 million people were in "distressed" relationships.

Seasonal spikes also occur in January, after the last ‘family’ Christmas.

There were 114,720 divorces in England and Wales in 2013, down 3% on 2012, according to the most recent figures available from the Office of National Statistics show. The number of divorces was highest among men and women aged between 40 and 44.

Please note that the information and opinions contained in this article are not intended to be comprehensive, nor to provide legal advice. No responsibility for its accuracy or correctness is assumed by Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers Ltd or any of its members or employees. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking, or refraining from taking, any action as a result of this article.

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