Family lawyers are bracing themselves for what looks set to be a rush of couples starting divorce proceedings next week.

The first Monday after children return to school following Christmas is traditionally the busiest day in the divorce lawyer’s calendar. This year that day falls on 12 January and is expected to be especially busy as the economic slowdown ratchets up pressure on shaky marriages.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 144,220 couples divorced in 2007, the last year for which figures are available. Divorces during the coming 12 months are expected to exceed this number as the credit crunch bites deeper.

Simon Craddock, a partner in the family law team at Oxfordshire practice Brethertons, said the firm always leaves the first two weeks of January free in anticipation of a surge in divorces. ‘The weather’s miserable, people have spent lots of money, they’ve been stuck indoors with great-aunt Gertrude and this year, in particular, they’re worried about their jobs and futures. Something has to give – and often it’s the marriage.’

David Allison, a partner at London firm Family Law in Partnership, said people divorce in the new year in much the same way others join a gym or look for a new job. ‘But the horrors of Christmas can sometimes be the straw that breaks the marriage’s back.’ Some couples, however, are stuck with one another. ‘House prices have dropped and, in the unlikely event they can find a buyer, they don’t want to sell at the bottom of the market. Divorce itself is expensive, too, with legal fees and the cost of setting up a new home or homes. Some people can’t afford to get divorced.’

Family law solicitor Shelley Hesford of Cheshire firm SAS Daniels said her department receives more calls in the first few days of January than at any other time of the year. ‘New year, new start is something we’re hearing alarmingly often.’