January is upon us and the phones are starting to ring. It happens every year in our divorce law practice. It's the same old story: clients dissatisfied with the marital relationships, but not wanting to file for divorce until after the holidays.
Since I began my divorce law practice decades ago, it has never changed. It is like a department store having a sale. People are lining up on the phone to speak with an attorney and make an appointment to get started.
I am not totally sure what it is all about. We don't keep the statistics in our office, but I read somewhere that most of the people calling are women. Did the husband not pay attention to the hints dropped about that perfect Christmas present? I am sure that it is much more than that. Did he get caught kissing the wrong person under the mistletoe?
A friend of mine told me once that the reason men have affairs is that they have just come to realize that they are going to die someday. It is sort of an analysis of what you want the rest of your life to look like. If it looks better with another female in the picture, then the move gets made because the man doesn't want to end his life with having let the opportunity slip by.
People take time during the holidays to pause and reflect. They take more days off work around the holidays and they exchange thoughts with friends. This can lead to that lifestyle analysis.
Holidays tend to make us think of hearth and home and warm feelings, which we may not be experiencing in our own current domestic situation and may want a chance to rekindle. If the relationship has gone dark, you may be looking to light the spark somewhere else.
There was only one January in my long career when the phones here did not ring off the hook. That was in 2008 at the beginning of the recession. My guess is that there were a lot of dissatisfied people that January, too. They just didn't feel like they had enough money to invest in lawyers to work their way out of the relationship. I can tell you that the recession must be over because, since then, the January phone stampede has been consistent each year.
I guess it is not all bad. I also heard that more people get engaged over the holidays than any other time of the year as well.
Coming into or going out of a relationship, it seems that there is something about the end of the holiday season to crank up the process.
I hope that you all find the peace and happiness you are seeking.
To learn more about divorce or family law, contact Stann here.