Luke’s comments have been reproduced below with kind permission.
While questioning the existence of a single ‘Divorce Day’, there are some reasons for a rise in divorce applications in January, argues Payne Hicks Beach family lawyer Luke Scarratt.
‘Spending extended time together (and with in-laws) over Christmas and New Year can crystallise existing doubts in a marriage,’ Scarratt says. ‘Likewise, some potential clients delay initiating a divorce in December, not wanting to spoil Christmas for the family.’
‘It is also a very human response to give a marriage in trouble a deadline – “let’s work on it until the end of 2025” – and a percentage of those marriages will not work, adding to the January spike,’ he adds.
However, Scarratt notes there is a positive element to counteract the influx in divorce paperwork.
‘Finally, on the other (happier) side of the balance sheet, couples with a marriage planned this summer will be getting round to dealing with their prenup,’ he says. ‘We draft a lot of prenups in January.’
Click here to read the full article: Divorce Day: Fact or fiction?
For further information, please contact Luke Scarratt, in the Payne Hicks Beach Family Department or, alternatively, telephone on 020 7465 4300.
