Requests for separation have doubled in Quebec since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and an equally important second wave can be expected in the fall, according to several specialist lawyers.
“I’ve been practicing for 13 years and I’ve never been so busy! I even had to double the human resources in the office, because we couldn’t [à répondre à la demande]», Supports Me Mylène Lemmel, specialist in family law.
The main factors of separation in a couple are very often the stress caused by the children and the money, indicates the lawyer.
With the closure of schools, telecommuting or job loss, and anxiety caused by the pandemic, the coronavirus has created an explosive cocktail for many lovers.
Result: requests for separation have doubled since the start of the crisis, according to specialists in the field consulted by Le Journal, particularly among young couples and parents of young children.
For mee Patrick Chalut, lawyer in family, civil and international law, and Me Annie Drapeau, lawyer specializing in family law, at certain times, the demand has increased by 100% compared to before the pandemic.
Me Drapeau finds that the phenomenon has also amplified for two or three weeks, in full deconfinement.
“What I also see is that there are a lot of people who were already separated, but there they want legal documents from the court that formalize the separation,” she explains.
Mediation
Besides the separations, Me Chalut also notes that the crisis has increased the problems within couples who are already separated, especially with regard to childcare.
“Since a lot of parents didn’t know how to react with health measures like distancing, it created a lot of worry and conflict,” he explains.
This had the effect of also increasing requests for mediation.
For example, for Me Lemmel, mediation represented around 15% of his working time before the crisis. Today, that represents almost 30% of his week.
Second wave
For these lawyers, there is no doubt, we can expect a second wave of separations this fall.
“Financially, people still have [en ce moment] government assistance. But when it will stop, there will be financial problems and that will create problems in the couples and we will see a new increase in separations ”, estimates Me Annie Drapeau.
For Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal, this reflection is not surprising.
“Right now, the fact that we’re on vacation and the weather is nice, it helps a bit, if I may say so. But in the fall, we will no longer have this holiday effect! The financial worries and the school puzzle will start again. So, we can expect that it will cause more stress and therefore more conflict in couples, ”she thinks.
Quick procedure
Despite the demand and the crisis, the separation process is still very rapid.
Mainly because the Department of Justice had to adapt and change its procedures.
“The operation of the court is much more efficient, because everything has been digitized and everything is done by internet, we no longer have to travel”, explains Me Flag.
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