Divorce attorneys have a name for the first Monday following the holiday season. It’s been dubbed “Divorce Day” because it’s the day the office phones start ringing as unhappy couples commit to a better future. If your marriage is stable, you have no reason to worry. If your marriage has been on the rocks for some time, however, you may have cause for concern.
There are a few different reasons that people tend to wait for Divorce Day to start the process of ending their marriage. Some of them are emotional — and some of them are rooted in more practical concerns. The most common reasons that people wait until after the holidays to start a divorce are:
- Not wanting to face the holidays alone (especially with all those family gatherings)
- Not wanting to upset parents or children by giving them unhappy news about a divorce in the middle of the holiday season
- Holding on to hope that the marriage can be salvaged, especially as the nostalgia and romance of the holiday season gears up
- Not having the money to manage the holidays and the expense of a divorce
- Not wanting to lose their tax filing status as a married couple
Once the holiday season rolls by, however, people start to cope with their emotions or find it less possible to distract themselves from their unhappiness. In addition, all of that “holiday togetherness” is more likely to expose the flaws in a relationship — not fix existing fractures.
Add to all that, it’s entirely possible that some people simply make “getting a divorce” part of their New Year’s resolutions, especially if they’ve been unhappy and unfulfilled in their marriages for a long time.
Are you among the “unhappily married” out there facing another year in a marriage that’s not what you wanted? If so, it may be time to pick up your phone and call a divorce attorney yourself.