Long-time readers will be aware of Obiter’s exasperation with talk of Divorce Day, the largely discredited supposition that couples return from the turkey and New Year parties intent on going their separate ways on the first available Monday.

But move aside Divorce Day, for there is a new alliterative hook that has entered the room: the September Split.

The phrase has been coined by litigation firm Stewarts, which says that enquiries to its divorce and family team are 49% higher than the average across the other 11 months of the year.

The firm puts the post-summer surge down to couples coming back to reality after the summer holidays and deciding they want to reassess their relationships.

Obiter does not question the theory or the figures but as ever wonders about the public perception of treating this kind of trend as a marketing opportunity. One has to hope that no other times of year emerge as peak season, mainly because we can’t work out any words to match with April, July or October.

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