Divorces Spike in January from New Year’s Resolutions

WASHINGTON, Jan 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Losing weight, eating more healthfully and exercising regularly are typical resolutions people make in January. According to DC-area law firm Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell, one more is being added to the list: getting divorced.

“We see a significant increase in calls from potential clients in the new year,” said Jonathan Dana, managing partner with Feldesman Tucker’s family law practice, based in Washington, D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland.

Mary S. Pence, who has practiced family law with Dana for 28 years, believes three factors motivate couples to part ways at the start of a new year:

*The prospect of making a fresh start from a crumbling marriage.

*The end of the holidays, during which couples contemplating divorce have labored to “make it through.”