The 13 Divorces of Christmas Day

Well, for 13 people, the Christmas period just got too much, and they decided it was a good day to issue their divorce petition online. Now, we don’t know about you, but we were too busy stuffing our faces with Christmas dinner and chocolates, to even think about how much our other halves were annoying us (“Just be quiet and let us eat our dinner in peace!”, “NO, I do not want to go for a walk with you … I can barely move!”). However, at MG Legal, your local divorce solicitors, we understand that for some people, it’s been an accumulation of events, Christmas day being the icing on the cake! 

Whilst we think that 13 is quite a lot for what is supposed to be a happy time, you might not be surprised to hear that between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, 455 online petitions were submitted. Whilst this is only a small percentage of the overall number of divorces usually issued in a year, Solicitors in Lancaster explain, previous to the introduction of the online system, it was highly unlikely (if not impossible) that your divorce would have been issued on Christmas day – unless a very unlucky member of the Court system was working that day! 

So, what is the most common reason given by Petitioners? Well, in 2017, the Ministry of Justice statistics show that 52% of wives in opposite-sex couples divorcing, and 37% of husbands, petition on the basis of their spouse’s unreasonable behaviour. As you are probably already aware (because of the copious amounts of stories circulating about it!), in England and Wales there is not currently a no-fault divorce available. This leaves five facts available that the Petitioner can base their petition on, which can be found in Solicitors in Lancaster’s blog here. 

 

So, what do you think of issuing a Divorce of Christmas day? Is it something you think you would end up doing (perhaps after one too many glasses – or bottles), or is it something you think you would want to consider in more depth? If you have had a long, hard think and want to go ahead with divorce proceedings, contact your local divorce solicitors, on 01772 783 314 (Preston) or 01995 602 129 (Garstang) or 01524 581 306 (Lancaster), or email enquiries@mglegal.co.uk. And if you do get divorced, please don’t forget to change your Will. Until March 2019, MG Legal, local solicitors for Wills, are offering Wills at £50.00.