For many people, the goal while entering the new year is “positive change.” They may try to change personally or professionally. They may concentrate on habits they want to end or goals they want to achieve. 

A lot of couples decide to change their relationship status. January is the month when divorce cases tend to start  rising, heading toward a peak in March . Why is this?

As noted, the desire for change is one reason. Some people start to really think about what they want the next year to be like and they realize that staying married isn’t the way to get there. They may have been thinking about divorce all year, or at least for months, but moving into the new year really pushes them to take the next step. 

Often, though, the decision to wait is just about holiday avoidance. November and December do not seem like good months to be embroiled in a divorce case or to break the news that you want a divorce to your spouse/family. These are months with major holidays — most notably, Thanksgiving and Christmas — that center around family interactions. A divorce runs contrary to this, and so people decide to wait until the following year. 

Is it time for a fresh start in the new year? When you get into January, do you think you’ll opt to bring up divorce or even just file and serve the papers to your spouse? If you do decide that this is the route you want to go, it’s important to know exactly what steps to take and what rights you have.