Melanie Hamer is a director at Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice and has been qualified as a family law solicitor since 1989. Throughout all the years Melanie has been qualified it has become apparent to her that in December, the number of individuals looking to engage with a solicitor or start proceedings drastically drop. After the Christmas period and the New Year, the number of individuals engaging with solicitors for family law issues skyrocket. Melanie explains that there are lots of reasons for this, including:
Children
When there are children involved a couple may choose to stay together for one last Christmas even though one or both parents may be planning on separating in January.
Time spent together and with extended families
Whilst Christmas can be a happy and enjoyable time, many people will have trouble over the Christmas period. If you’re not in a happy relationship, spending extended time with a partner/ spouse and extended families can act as a pressure cooker that can lead to the end of a number of marriages that may ultimately already be failing.
Financial
Particularly during the Christmas period, many people may face financial difficulties. Parents naturally want the best for their children and will often go out of their way to buy the best, biggest and most expensive presents. Excessive spending over Christmas can quickly lead to high amounts of debt, leading to additional stresses and strains on families.
Previous years have shown that we can receive calls during any given day over the Christmas period. This is why we will be offering a 24/7 dedicated line throughout this Christmas period to help individuals in need of urgent advice.
In addition to our 24/7 number, our business hours during the Christmas period are as follows: our offices will close on Thursday 23rd December 2021 at 5pm and will reopen remotely at 9am on Wednesday 29th December. We will then close again on Friday 31st December at 4pm and reopen remotely on Tuesday 4th January at 9am.
We wish everyone a peaceful Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
T: 029 2034 2233
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