What is National Divorce Day in the UK? Why is it so called?

 Are you aware about the National Divorce Day? It is the first working day of the year when divorce enquiries and cases show a surge. Why does this happen?

National Divorce Day

This is the first working day of a year when divorce filings and enquiries are high. Usually, it is the first Monday of the year. But in 2022, Monday was a bank holiday. Hence it was on Tuesday 4 January 2022. Many couples wait to  finish the happy festival  season before putting in the legal papers for divorce in the court. 

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In 2015, Head of family law at legal firm Slater & Gordon Andrew Newbury told The Independent:

 “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.”

In 2018, 13 people put in documents for divorce on a Christmas in Wales and England together. 

What is the reason for increase in divorce cases in January?

The likely cause is breakdown of marital rela townships just around the Christmas holidays. But couples to not wish to spoil the fun. Christmas is a time for family and togetherness. Couples do not want to put on a sad face at Christmas and also want to avoid hurting one's family members with this bad news. They want to complete the festival time and later file for divorce. So such cases accumulate until January to initiate the divorce procedure. 

The stress of the holidays also negatively affects relationships. And certain new year resolutions could impact relationship and cause it to break. Family lawyer Samantha Farndale opines: 

“A rush of cases at the start of January can create a real backlog for the courts, which creates delays.

“In previous years we have seen clients face up to four weeks’ wait on their cases.

“Spending days together in closer quarters can bring up issues.”

Excessive boozing at Christmas could make relationship to collapse.