Many people know that divorces increase after the winter holiday season. A recent report by the University of Washington throws a small wrench in this belief. The study found that the spikes in divorces occur in March and August. This is something that is actually pretty interesting if you stop and think about what this means.
Let’s look at March first. The filings in this month would get couples past the holiday season and Valentine’s Day. It isn’t so close to the end of the school year that it would affect children who are going to have to take final exams. This also gives the parties time to prepare financial documents and handle tax returns before they file for divorce. It also coincides with the start of spring, which is associated with fresh starts.
The August spike in ending marriages is pretty interesting, too. This filing time might come after couples take a summer vacation in the hopes of working through the issues. When this doesn’t happen, they hurry up and file. If there are children in the picture, this is likely an urgent matter so that things can get sorted out before the start of the school year. It also gives them time to let things settle before the winter holiday season creeps up again.
If you are thinking that you will need to file for divorce, now is the time to work on getting things together. There is no harm in getting an accurate account of your finances, so there isn’t any worry if you end up not filing because you and you spouse can work things out.
Source: Philly Voice, “Study: We’re coming up on divorce season,” Marielle Mondon, June 27, 2017
