While February markets romance with Valentine’s Day festivities, many people are privately reassessing their marriages.
At Respect Legal, the shift is tangible. Enquiries increase. Research spikes. The phone rings more . We notice the uptick every year in February.
Does love expire at the end of summer?
Or does December expose the fault lines?
The Holiday Stress Test
Extended time together has a way of amplifying what is already there.
Financial pressure.
Parenting tensions.
Unresolved resentment.
Coercive control dynamics that intensify behind closed doors.
Parenting tensions.
Unresolved resentment.
Coercive control dynamics that intensify behind closed doors.
When routine disappears, the relationship stands on its own. For some couples, that is grounding. For others, it is clarifying.
By late January, once children return to school and daily structure resumes, many people realise something uncomfortable: they do not want to repeat the previous year.
That is the real February spike.
Despite public narratives about declining divorce rates, the lived reality inside a family law practice is more complex.
The calls we receive are deliberate, and well timed with intention.
People want to understand property settlement.
They want clarity around parenting arrangements.
They want to know how to separate without triggering a war.
They want clarity around parenting arrangements.
They want to know how to separate without triggering a war.
They are not seeking drama. They are seeking strategy.
If You Are Going to Separate, Do It Properly
Speak to a family lawyer before you leave.
Understand your financial landscape.
Understand your obligations.
Understand what the Family Law Act requires around disclosure and child-focused arrangements.
Understand your obligations.
Understand what the Family Law Act requires around disclosure and child-focused arrangements.
Once separation becomes reactive, decisions are often driven by emotion rather than planning.
Low conflict divorce is not passive. It is controlled.
Litigation should be a tool of last resort, not a performance of strength.
Where coercive control or high-conflict personalities are involved, structure and boundaries matter even more. The goal is protection, not escalation.
Divorce Is a Restructure, Not a Collapse
Handled correctly, separation can create stability for children and financial clarity for both parties.
Handled poorly, it becomes prolonged conflict that drains emotional and economic resources.
If you are sitting in February quietly researching “family lawyer Australia” or “separation advice,” rest assured that you are not the only one. This month has a pattern.
Start with information, and seek the right support.
Book the free 15-minute phone call via the link in our bio: