It is known within the legal profession as ‘divorce day’ – the first Monday back at work after Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The stresses and strains of the festive period can take their toll on relationships and January is one of the busiest times of the year for divorce lawyers.
This year, however, those pressures have been heightened even further due to the coronavirus crisis and solicitors claim they are expecting an even bigger spike than usual.
Law Firm Aberdein Considine said the financial pressures of Christmas and the increased stress it can bring can create an intense period for families and couples.
Ruth Aberdein, head of Family Law at the firm, said: “This can be a very difficult time of year for many people, and it comes on the top of a health crisis which could well have been a catalyst for stress within a family.
“Spending extended periods of time together, without the break of one or both partners going out to work can cause tensions, bringing issues in relationships into sharp focus. Also, for some, the prospect of a starting afresh in the New Year is compelling. We do tend to see a significant increase in new clients following the festive period.
“Our experience is that a calm approach to disharmony is always advisable. It is incredibly important not to make any hasty decisions in the heat of the moment, especially when emotions are running high.
“It can certainly be beneficial to talk with someone outside of the family unit, and it could well be that as we hopefully see a gradual return to more normal living and working patterns, any pressures could ease.
“Sometimes though, separation and divorce is an inevitable outcome.”
Recent figures from the Scottish Government reveal a 7% rise in divorces granted in the courts in 2018-19 – a total of 7379 – compared to the previous year.
This is the first year on year increase in the civil cases since 2011-12.
Read more: Scotland braced for busiest divorce day of the year
Aberdein Considine said the full impact of the pandemic on divorce numbers will take some time to emerge due to delays in legal processes following a widespread shutdown of the courts between March and July last year.
However, family law partner April Campbell said that she and her colleagues’ experience so far has been that the pandemic has given some couples a push towards breaking-up, with a lack of distractions such as holidays and nights out contributing to the decision.
She said: “From my own experience and discussions with colleagues, the pandemic has had the effect of pushing unhappy couples towards separation and divorce.
“This appears to be due to the proximity of the couple within a household with no or limited access to outside distractions such as going to work, extended social contact and key happiness inducing events such as a family holiday, weekend break or weddings.
“In addition, the Covid uncertainty and any resulting financial strains can lead to a conviction that the relationship can no longer be sustained.”
The lawyer also claimed that when couples do decide to separate, the pandemic is creating further difficulties in what comes afterwards, with solicitors seeing a “significant uplift” in disputes over childcare and contact arrangements.
Ms Campbell explained: “Decisions, such as whether to sell or transfer jointly owned property and how the care of the children will be managed, have become more difficult due to additional Covid factors, such as financial uncertainly, where to live and the care of children.
“I have seen more differences in views on how to parent apart during the pandemic as parents navigate this extra consideration.
“This has led to increased recourse to solicitors and requirement for more detailed legal advice on aspects of caring for children on divorce. The divorce then becomes more conflicted which can feed into other issues such as financial support and how to divide the property.”
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She added that seeking legal advice early on is vital to help navigate that.
“Knowledge in this situation is so empowering for an individual,” she said. “This is particularly true if there is a financial imbalance within the relationship.
“Obtaining such advice allows a person facing enormous upheaval and worry to choose how to go forward confidently.
“Most of my client’s seek advice from a starting point of a completely erroneous understanding of how matters can be dealt with and the options available to them. As a result, they can be confused and panicked, or about to embark on a financial path contrary to their own interests.
“Anyone separating or divorcing should obtain a full understanding of all of their options in relation to children, division of property, on-going maintenance and financial provision and obtain specialist legal advice.”
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