Lifestyle / January: The Divorce Month

January: The Divorce Month

Lifestyle Jan 13, 2014

by Nidhi Shrivastava

The first month of the New Year is almost over. While many couples are celebrating their newly wedded bliss (especially in India where the wedding season has just come to an end), January is also known as the ‘Divorce month’ among the legal.

Devry Smith Frank LLB recently conducted a poll on Canadians who were divorcing in January. The numbers were quite astonishing. According to the results, 73% of Canadians couples divorced amicably. It is a testament that Canadian couples are civil to each other as they become single again. About 32% were concerned with the financial impact of the divorce and 39.2% were concerned with the division of assets as their greatest financial concern during their divorce.

Julie Tyas, who is a lawyer who has been practicing family law past seven years observed, “We expect to see our calendars fill up every January with appointments to explore divorce proceedings, but we’d never expect such optimism from Canadians about keeping divorce amicable. “Couples don’t usually prepare for divorce, supporting why 74.6% of Canadians polled have never considered it. The reality is that divorce rates are continuing to rise, and difficult conversations before initiating any type of dispute resolution process can help to ensure a more amicable separation.” Tyas also notes that “1 out of 10” divorces are amicable.

Tyas recommends that any couple who is considering a divorce should stick to three simple rules. They should “talk the talk.” In other words, they should have an agreement with their partner and avoid heated arguments and stay focused on the issues. Secondly, they should have their finances in order. Finances should be discussed beforehand and will help with the dissolving of child, property, and spousal support. Finally, the couple should avoid behaving recklessly. Try to avoid the arduous and backlogged court system and maintain the status quo. There is no need to make situations worse for yourself and your family.

Certified Divorce consultant, Cathy Meyers, told Huffington Post, "Absolutely. January consistently sees the most divorce filings. It just really amazes me, though it probably shouldn’t . . . my own husband left in January."
Meyers is the founder of DivorcedWomenOnline.com. She has noticed that in January, couples begin to search for information for divorce. She adds, "I see a huge increase in page views and searches the day after Christmas. People start looking for information before the New Year starts, but they can't do much until the attorneys are back in the office. January 12-16 seems to be the magic week for filings."

According to Meyers, there are many reasons why couples wait for January to get a divorce. Among them, she has noticed is that couples want to divorce after they have reached an agreement with their children. "What I hear from my clients is that they were struggling with the marriage before the holiday season. If they have children, the holidays are supposed to be a magical time, so they commit to giving the kids one last happy holiday as an intact family. By January, if it's still not working, they know it's time to move on."

In India, there has been a 100% increase in divorces alone. Recent studies in India indicate that one in 1,000 marriages that are coming to an end. Dr. Geetanjali Sharma, a marriage counselor located in Gurgaon notes, "I feel people are concentrating more on the careers and less on their personal lives. I also feel they lack patience and tolerance. They don't want to put more efforts into a relationship to fix the issues, and they feel that escapism is the solution.” As time passes, divorce continues to be seen as a stigma within the Indian communities. Swarupa (name changed) left her husband because she was financially-able said that she had trouble getting a house near her ex-husband’s home. "I've been house-hunting near my ex-husband's [home], but you know it is very difficult to get a house because people are very skeptical about giving it to a single woman."

Many people blame the cultural clash between the new and old India as the reason for the increase of divorces in India.

_{Featured Image: http://i.huffpost.com}

Nidhi Shrivastava

Author

Nidhi Shrivastava (@shnidhi) is a Ph.D. candidate in the English department at Western University and works as an adjunct professor in at Sacred Heart University. She holds double masters in South Asian Studies and Women's Studies. Her research focuses on Hindi film cinema, censorship, the figure o...

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January: The Divorce Month

by Nidhi Shrivastava

The first month of the New Year is almost over. While many couples are celebrating their newly wedded bliss (especially in India where the wedding season has just come to an end), January is also known as the ‘Divorce month’ among the legal.

Nidhi Shrivastava

COMMENTS

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