Pasadena Texas Divorce Lawyer agrees that January does see an increase in divorce related lawsuit filings.
In the business of representing people who are getting divorced, we often see ebbs and flows in the number of cases we file from month to month. It took me several years after I started practicing family law to get used to being busy one month and then wondering if I would ever get a new client the next. Over the years I have come to see a trend in when the divorce business will pick up each year and when it will slow back down.
Typically, the slow periods begin around the Thanksgiving holidays and runs through the New Year. I have often times wondered why this is the time the slow down begins, and have formed the opinion it must be related to not wanting to cause the family a shock during the holidays. I believe many people that are close to making up their minds to file for divorce will wait to stick it out for their family members just so they can try to keep some sense of normalcy during the family gatherings, that occur during the holidays.
Pasadena Contact a Pasadena Texas Divorce Lawyer
As related in this Fox News story, I have also observed that right after the holidays are over, my appointment book begins to fill back up with clients wanting to go ahead and file for a divorce. The Fox News story quotes some lawyers and other court personal saying they believe the reasons the post- new year increase in filings is related to people having more money to spend on a lawyer after they receive their tax returns. I would definitely say this is a part of the equation. The retainer fee that is usually required to begin a contested divorce case is often times substantial enough that the only time people have that amount of surplus funds is after their yearly refund from the IRS.
I also think that all of the forced family time I discussed above, does push some clients over the edge in wanting to finally end their marriage with a divorce. I often hear from clients that they just spent 2 weeks a home with their spouse and they just cannot handle being around that person anymore.
Finally, I would say the increased case load in January is due to a little of both, too much togetherness and the additional tax refund money to pay for the case. Or maybe it is all about the New Year’s resolution…?
Dennis
Here at Slate & Associates, Attorneys at Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation issues, child support, spousal support, juvenile, domestic violence, property division grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have 3 Houston area locations including Deer Park, Houston, and Porter, Texas. Call our offices today and we can set an appointment with an attorney: (281) 407-9254.