End of summer revealed as peak time for couples to make divorce decisions

THE LAST Monday in September is the peak day of the year for British couples to decide to divorce, it has been reported.

While it has long been believed most break-ups happen on the first Monday after Christmas or New Year’s Day, The Sunday Telegraph has cited a study showing the end of summer is the most common time for couples to call it quits.

The paper based its conclusion on an examination of the Ministry of Justice’s online divorce service, which logged 225 requests on Monday, September 30 last year. That was more than double the normal daily average, substantially higher than an average Monday figure of 138.4, and it was also the highest daily number since the service was launched in April 2018.

The study showed there was also a spike after the Christmas period, but it was not as pronounced as that on the last Monday of September.

Simon Blain, a partner specialising in family law at law firm Forsters, said he was not surprised by the finding.

He said: “There have been suggestions there is this big day when people get divorced after Christmas because they have fallen out over the turkey.

“Those who work in the industry have been trying to downplay that for years because we know that divorce tends not to be a decision that people make in haste.

“The correlation between the peak dates and divorce is generally at the end of the long school holidays, which often provide time for reflection and thought when you take time out of work and get the headspace to make big decisions in your life.”