‘Divorce Month’

‘Divorce Day’ is a term used by the legal profession to typically describe the first working day of January when they receive a surge in new enquiries from couples seeking to divorce. This year it fell on 7th January.

We would dub it ‘Divorce month.’ We have experienced an exceptionally busy January for referrals from individuals in need of our mediation skills. We were so busy that all previous records for one month were broken. The total of 52 new referrals exceeded  our previous high of 45 (January 2018). Twenty six of the January 2019 referrals were from divorcing/separating couples wishing to dissolve joint finances and/or formalise child arrangements.

Service Co-ordinator, Nick Handley said, “January 2019 proved to be an exceptional month for us. There have been some sad situations presented to us, as relationships have broken down. That has extended to other conflicts between family members, across the generations, that surfaced over the Christmas period. We hope to make the onward journey less stressful, keep lines of communication open and minimise the impact on any children involved.”

There are lots of reasons why January is seen as ‘Divorce month’. The stress of trying to create the perfect Christmas, financial troubles made worse by festive spending, or just wanting a new partner for the New Year all contribute. Throw in all the intense time spent together, extended family bickering and unrealistic expectations and it can all spell disaster for some relationships.

According to data analysed by divorce support service Amicable, more than 40,500 people will have searched ‘divorce’ online during the month of January – a hefty 25 per cent higher than the usual traffic.

A word of caution is offered to those thinking about splitting up – previous research by Relate has shown that 1 in 10 divorcees say that with the right support they would have been able to save their relationship and stay together.

Mediation helps everyone involved to hear and understand one another and to work together, with the aim of finding the best solutions that suit all those involved. West Sussex Mediation Service offers a full range of mediation services and are happy to offer advice over the phone – 0300 200 0025