The divorce rate may rise next month

July 10, 2020

The summer is generally a time when divorce rates hold steady, having declined at the beginning of the season. They then tend to spike back up again at the end of August. This means that next month could see a drastic rise in filings, and couples need to be ready.

Why do divorce rates go up like this so consistently that it’s become predictable? Certainly, you have many couples with unique reasons, like a person who simply finds out that their spouse has been cheating on them in August. But you also have some set reasons that apply to many couples, such as:

• Couples do not want to cancel their summer plans with the children
• Couples who are drifting apart think that these summer plans, like a family vacation, may save the marriage
• Couples do not have as much free time to take action and file for divorce while the kids are home for the summer
• Couples do not want to put the divorce off until the fall holiday season, so they feel like August and September are the best months to file — unless they’re willing to wait until the following year
• Parents who become empty-nesters often do so in the fall, when college begins, and they may have been waiting for that crucial event to file so that they could stay married as long as the children are living at home

Whether or not any of these reasons impact your decisions, if you do decide that you want to get divorced in the near future, it’s important that you know what steps to take.