It’s certainly true that there are couples who get divorced without any thought to what time of year it is. Maybe there is just a key event, like the discovery of an extramarital affair, and they move forward with the divorce right away.
But when you look at the statistics, you can still track when divorce is more likely on the whole. One thing that researchers have found is that in the late summer and early fall, there is generally an increase in divorce filings. This often happens toward the end of August. But why does it happen? There are a few potential reasons.
The return to school
Parents often have more time in the fall, when their kids head back to school or college. Some parents may even discuss divorce during the summer but not move forward with it until they have more time to talk about it on their own.
Trying to fix the marriage
In some cases, couples believe that the stress of the rest of the year may be taking a toll on the marriage, but that the summer break could help to fix it. Maybe they plan to go on vacation or have other fun family events. Once the summer comes to a close, if the marriage hasn’t been repaired, then they move toward a divorce.
They want to avoid the holidays
For children, the summer itself often feels like a holiday. But parents are also considering how long divorce takes and the upcoming winter holidays – especially Christmas. They usually do not want to start divorce proceedings at this time, so doing it in August or September allows them to get started before the holiday season.
These are just a few things to keep in mind when getting divorced. No matter when it is happening, be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take.