Why do divorce rates go down in the summer?

Divorce rates are somewhat predictable throughout the year, at least in terms of when they rise and fall. There will usually be a spike in March. The rates will then decline for the summer, and there will be another spike in August. This is then followed by a steep decline through the fall, and the rates don’t go back up again until January.

When looking at the drop in November and December, is often attributed to the holiday season. People don’t want to get divorced during the Christmas holidays, for example. But why is there also a decline in the summer?

Less free time

For one thing, parents have less free time where they can have one-on-one conversations together. The children may be home from school, so they’re in the house all the time. Some parents just avoid bringing up divorce until the kids go back to school, insulating them from this process until it’s time to inform them.

Trying to fix the marriage

As a general rule, the summer months are seen as a fun and carefree time, perhaps because that’s how they are for young children. This leads some adults to think that all they need to fix the marriage is more family time over the summer. They want to spend afternoons by the pool or go on family road trips. They think that this will repair the issues in the marriage so they don’t need to get divorced.

For some, this may work, but many find out that the summer months didn’t fix the problems in the marriage. When the fall rolls around and those problems still exist, they file for divorce. Anyone going through this process needs to be aware of their legal options.