When the nation first heard about the coronavirus, people had mixed reactions. When some of them heard about stay-at-home orders and the fact that they wouldn’t be allowed to return to work, they got excited. They loved the idea of avoiding their daily commute to work, sitting in traffic, having to get all dressed up for work, and having to take the kids to and from school.
Others, on the other hand, were not thrilled about spending all day locked up with their significant others because they feared their marriages would reach the breaking point. For couples whose marriages were hanging by a thread as it was, they soon realized that their marriages were none other than...ticking timebombs, just waiting to blow. And for victims of domestic violence, the thought of being stuck inside the house 24/7 with their abusers without a break, struck fear deep into their hearts, placing their health, safety, and well-being at risk.
Experts Expect a Spike in Divorce Filings
On April 17, 2020, ABC News published an article about how a surge in divorces is anticipated in the wake of the COVID-19 quarantine. The article’s author, Andy Fies, started the article talking about how a wave of divorce filings is expected to break across the country when people are released from COVID-19 ends, and as divorce advocates, we have to agree.
"This is what we are hearing around the country," said Susan Myres, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. "We are fielding calls right now from people who are tired of being in the same house with each other."
There are multiple causes behind the expected divorce surge – experts cite reasons such as financial stress, domestic violence, and people simply being unhappy and realizing they want to make positive changes so they can improve their circumstances.
Myers painted a very clear picture of what it’s like for some couples: "If you are stuck in a little apartment and one of you has been laid off or maybe both of you have been laid off and you've got kids and it's loud and you're tired and everybody is on high adrenaline fear, if you don't have good coping skills, it's not surprising that domestic violence is on the rise."
If California’s stay-at-home order has you rethinking your marriage, contact Burch Shepard Family Law Group to seek legal advice!
