It’s almost the New Year, and if you’re planning to file for divorce at some point in the near future, you aren’t alone. According to research, January kicks off what some call “divorce season,” a three-month span when we start to see a spike in the number of couples filing for divorce.

The top of the year isn’t the only time divorce filings surge. Data suggests March and late summer are also popular windows. But January reigns supreme as the most iconic “Divorce Month” thanks, in part, to the many familiar, compounding factors believed to influence this influx of New Year’s splits.

California's new law allows married couples to file joint divorce petitions, streamlining the process and eliminating process servers.