2020 has certainly been a year for the history books. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused upheaval on a global scale. Many of us were forced to work at home for months, cut off from the collaborative buzz of the office, colleagues reduced to images on a computer screen – and a lot of people are still doing exactly that, as regional lockdowns roll around the country. Meanwhile, children and young people have had to grapple with the confusing challenges posed by tuning into Zoom lessons delivered by overworked educators suddenly exiled from their classrooms and lecture halls.

All this has meant families being thrown together into spiky new shapes, spending long hours in each other’s company that they would otherwise have spent apart, and finding different ways to mutually navigate the “new normal”. Add to this tumult of change major stressors like the redundancy and unemployment suffered by so many as the pandemic took hold and you have quite a recipe for domestic strain.

If a couple’s relationship or marriage is fundamentally healthy, they might exchange a few cross words but they will have a good chance of rising to the challenges they face and finding a way through. But stress has a way of deepening cracks and relationships that were already in trouble may not survive 2020. Many couples have already split up, and here at Major Family Law, we receive calls every week from aggrieved husbands and wives who have reached the painful conclusion that there may be no future in their marriage.

Considering divorce

Perhaps this sounds strange coming from a family lawyer but the first recommendation we make when potential clients call to discuss the logistics of a divorce is: think carefully. Divorce is a major life change – be sure it’s what you really want. Whatever tensions and troubles you may currently be grappling with thanks to covid-19 will eventually pass, so be honest with yourself: could your marriage survive?

Children have always been a good reason for caution, and perhaps that goes double this year. Kids have already had to cope with a lot of scary disruption since March: they’ve been taken out of school for months, away from their friends and teachers, and they’ve returned (if they have returned at all) to a very different, socially distanced environment. A divorce will only be further upheaval.

But sometimes divorce is the right decision to make. If your marriage has become a source of serious unhappiness, then the time has come to seek good legal advice. Consulting an expert family solicitor is the best way to protect your interests and achieve the fair settlement you are entitled to. We think investing in the rest of your life is a sensible thing to do.

Our remit as family lawyers goes beyond the purely legal. We understand that divorce can be one of life’s most stressful and trying experiences – and so we work hard, as we help our clients on their journey, to minimise that stress so they can focus on the new life that lies ahead of them.

If you are considering divorce and you don’t know which way to turn because of Covid-19, then please call us. We are here to help you get an understanding of where you stand and how to put a plan together to move forward. You can get in touch with us by either calling 01661 824582 or emailing us at enquiries@majorfamilylaw.co.uk.

Image by Muenocchio via Flickr (Public domain)