Lawyers prepare for ‘Divorce Day’

Posted By: James

Sunday 4th January 2015

The Independent examines how lawyers are bracing themselves for ‘Divorce Monday’ when they typically see a surge in spouses planning to break up after the Christmas holidays. One in five married couples are considering separating from their partners after staying together over the festive period, according a poll of 2,000 spouses by Irwin Mitchell. The most recent ONS data on marriage breakups shows that 118,140 divorces were granted in England and Wales in 2012. The overall majority of divorces are from first marriages (71%), while almost half of all divorces granted in 2012 were to couples in the first ten years of marriage. Andrew Newbury, head of family law at Slater & Gordon, commented: “We’ve seen the number of inquiries double around this time and then in late January it tails off. Over the last two or three years I’ve noticed that people even inquire a little bit earlier between Christmas and New Year.” Separately, Giles Hattersley in the Times examines the situation for cohabiting couples when they decide to split. He notes that among 18 to 34-year-olds, 47% believing cohabiting couples have the same rights as their married counterparts, something which they do not. Sir Paul Coleridge believes that cohabiting couples need to be educated about the law, to ensure that if they split they are aware of their full legal rights.

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