It seems as if more people in Virginia and around the country file for divorce in January than in any other month. While studies have shown that more divorces are filed in August than in January, there is normally a surge at the beginning of each year. There are several factors that contribute to this.
One of the leading reasons that divorce filings spike in January is that people may simply want to wait until after the holidays. This is especially true for couples who have children and who don’t want to spoil their vacations.
Other people reevaluate their marriages while they are thinking about the resolutions that they want to make. They might feel unhappy in their marriages and resolve to finally go through with a divorce. Holidays are also highly stressful for many people. After going through a great deal of emotional conflict, some people are ready to call it quits when the new year rolls around.
When people have decided that they have reached the end of their marriages, they might want to consult with family law attorneys before they file their petitions. Adequate preparation for filing for divorce might make the process go much smoother. People might want to take time to gather their financial documents, including copies of all of their bill statements, prior year tax returns, bank account statements and other similar information. It may be much easier to gather these types of materials together before filing for divorce than to ask for them from an estranged spouse after the fact.