Starting the New Year with Divorce

 FINANCIAL REASONS  

Divorcing in January might be a result of financial conditions, said Leah Klungness, Ph.D., a psychologist and coauthor of "The Complete Single Mother," who authors the Web site www.JustAskDrLeah.com. “Some people also need that end of the year bonus to retain an attorney or take care of other anticipated divorce expenses,” she said.

Holiday stress may also be a reason to choose to divorce or separate in January, she said. There is so much to handle during the holidays,  office holiday parties; meddling relatives at mandatory family gatherings; expanding "Santa" lists, that people are overwhelmed enough. Breaking up with a spouse is just more than they can handle, she said. “Setting the divorce process in motion is simply less emotionally taxing after the holiday commotion has died down,” Klungness said.
 
Getting past the holiday season and entering the new year is a time for a new beginning, said Gilda Carle, Ph.D., founder of www.drgilda.com and www.match.com’s weekly Suddenly Single columnist. It’s the month that people take on a healthier outlook, which includes cutting back on excess and getting rid of anything that brings unhappiness, she said.            

“So it makes a lot of sense for January to be the month when these changes are made,”  she said.            

Those changes are major alterations like divorce because people are more willing in January to take a risk that they believe will pay off in a positive, life-improving way, she said. “It has to do with making new resolutions for a new year and deciding they are not willing to go through the same unhappiness they have gone through the year before,” Carle said. “January is a marker for change. They want to put themselves out there in away that will guarantee an opportunity for a better life in the future.”    

Michele Bush Kimball has a Ph.D. in mass communication with a specialization in media law. She has spent almost 15 years in the field of journalism, and she teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. She recently won a national research award for her work. She can be reached at m.kimball@divorce360.com.