January is Known as Divorce Month in America
New year, old spouse? 2020 marks a new beginning for many of us. For some Americans, this is exactly why they choose to seek out divorce lawyers. Many divorce lawyers consider January as divorce month.
CBS 19 sat down with Attorney Joseph Hoelscher, who manages Hoelscher, Gebbia and Cepeda, PLLC, claims that his law office sees a dramatic "increase in inquiries about divorces" at the end of every year. It's so common that his office promotes a "starting fresh" package discount that is steered towards people seeking an "uncontested separation".
Hoelscher said most couples with children end up waiting until after the holidays to file for divorce. They choose to spend one last holiday together as a family. Even though January is seen as divorce month nationally, Hoelscher said that August ends up being the busiest month for divorces. Parents like to wait until kids are back in school proceed with the divorce.
Hoelscher explained that "The holidays can be very intense, there's a lot of baggage coming into the holidays. You've got different sides of the family getting together with different expectations, and sometimes people just reach a breaking point. Which, when things calm down, a lot of times can be healed. The holidays are tough pretty much for everyone, I think."
Before you start thinking about walking away from your marriage, it can get really pricey. Hoelscher estimates that uncontested divorces can cost anywhere between $1,500 and $2,000. However, for the divorces on the more "bitter" side, or divorces where there is a lot of property or assets, he's seen people spend $40,000 to $50,000. On average, contested divorces typically cost people $10,000 at a minimum.