Charting divorce reveals clear peaks

If you think that it’s more likely that you’ll get divorced at a specific time of the year, you’re right. While a divorce can happen any day of the year, researchers from the University of Washington charted 14 years of data and found very clear trends.

Analyzing the graphs shows that divorce starts out fairly low in January. It then rises steadily through February — and Valentine’s Day, interestingly enough — and peaks in March.

After that peak, there is a sharp fall, though not quite to January’s level. It then holds solid through the summer, rising just slightly and then drifting back down again, but mostly running through a consistent plateau.

In July, it starts to rise again, and it peaks a second time in August. This is slightly lower than March, but very close, and it’s followed by the same steep fall. This time, though, the fall continues at a steady rate all the way to December, where it reaches the lowest possible point on the graph.

To really find out why this happens, interviews would have to be carried out, but many have speculated that the holidays are the reason for the graph. No one really wants to go through a divorce — or put their kids through it — during Thanksgiving and Christmas. They just gut it out.

Then, with the New Year comes a dedication to a “new me”, and divorces start piling up. They drop again in the summer because the kids are home for summer vacation, but then rise again when they return to classes. They may peak in the fall because, again, people don’t want to divorce during the holidays, and they know they have to hurry or wait for the next year.

If you’re getting divorced in any season in Nebraska, especially when children are involved, you must be as prepared and informed as possible. Make sure you know your parental rights, your property rights and the legal tools available to you.

Source: CNN, “Study: These are the peak times for divorce,” AJ Willingham, Aug. 24, 2016