Who knew that Monday 7th January 2019 is known this year as ‘Divorce Day’?
It’s become a tradition that the first Monday after the festive break sees a huge surge in enquiries from couples who have found the break just too much. The pressure of spending extra time together, or arguing over the chores, or the children, or which relatives to visit on which days can push an already stretched relationship to its limit. Compounded by the sometimes unrealistic expectations for a perfect family Christmas, and the additional financial burdens, couples often seek help around this time.
Relate, one of the UK’s biggest and best known relationship charities always reports a peak in calls in January, with an increase of up to 24% compared with an average month. Relate will work with couples who want to try to save their relationship , but warn that it will involve hard work. If you believe you can work together – (and history probably proves that you’ve managed to do this before, right? ) - then it’s almost certainly worth investigating. You’ll have a whole year to figure it out before the next Christmas holiday looms.
But what if you don’t think that’s going to be for you? You’ve had enough, and try as you might you can’t see that the two of you will ever work things out enough to continue living under the same roof. Then maybe it’s time to be honest, and talk about a separation plan. We can’t promise this will be easy either, but working with one of our accredited mediators we can take you through a logical process of planning and preparing, so that you both get the best outcome. And if you have children (of a suitable age), we can see them too. Research shows that children are happiest when their views are heard and they feel included in decision-making.
Your first meeting with us will be an introduction to the service – find out what we do and how it works, explore the costs and timescales and investigate the alternatives. You can come alone, and your partner doesn’t need to be contacted until you’re ready to take the next step. Or you can just leave it there and give it some more thought – there’s no obligation to move things forward until the timing is right for you.
Call or email us to find out more, or explore our free website resources - you’ll find everything from counselling directories, debt management tools, how to get advice on benefits, the law and your rights and support networks. There’s also a section for young people, where you will find tools and information to support the younger family members through the changes ahead.
Sometimes change, although difficult, is for the best. We can’t promise a Happy Divorce Day but we can help you make it a turning point if that’s what you need.
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