With the Rise in Divorce Rates During COVID-19,

The Ellis’ felt it was important to obtain the RCS-D designation to better serve their clients.

Unfortunately, one of the many changes we have seen during the Coronavirus Pandemic is a spike in divorce rates in the U.S. as so many couples have completely had their home/work environment completely changed.

There are several different averages depending on which data or poll you follow, but on average the number of people looking for divorces was up over 25 percent from March through June compared to the year prior.

It is obviously understandable with the huge changes that have occurred in are day to day living in 2020. So many have had to adjust to working from home on top of homeschooling their children as well. The added stress from that alone not to mention some have also been unemployed during this time or have even lost their businesses altogether which has caused financial strain for many. Even worse, some may have lost loved ones to COVID-19 or had the illness themselves. Therefore, we have also seen an increase in depression for many during this time. We are social beings and the lock downs in many of our areas have forced us to be at home more and not socialize with others. Typically, when married couples are going through a rough patch, they can have some time apart or time with friends to talk through their feeling’s. Unfortunately, through this pandemic it has affected each one of our life’s in some way and some decide not to reach out to others with their burdens when they to have their own. This along with all the other factors has put significant strain on many relationships.

Surprisingly, data collected by Legal Templates found that newlyweds took the hardest hit. In fact, 20 percent of couples who sought divorce were married within the past five months or less, compared to the just 11 percent in 2019 – doubling the rate. With numbers like that it would seem to reflect that recently married couples were less equipped to handle the added stress of COVID-19 in comparison to a more established marriage.

Obviously, we have helped many divorce couples navigate through buying and selling real estate over the last 20 plus years, but we wanted to do even more during this difficult time. I just finished a course to receive my RCS-D designation, Real Estate Collaboration Specialist-Divorce. The RCS-D designation is going to help us give our clients even more value and help them make an informed decision during an exceedingly difficult time in their life.

After obtaining my RCS-D designation I started connecting with great Family Law attorneys as well. Rick and I wanted to invite them on our weekly radio shows to hopefully help answer people’s questions that may be thinking about a divorce as well. We recently sat down with family law attorney Sylvia Pociask.

Sylvia has been an attorney for 10 years and is with Moss Pociask, LLC in St. Louis. If you listen to our radio shows or pick up my magazine you know how important it is to Rick and I to sit down with other business owners and make sure their priorities are inline with ours, always having the best interest of the client. In doing so, I always like to find out what led them to their career path because I think it explains a lot about who they are as a person and the compassion they will show to anyone we send their way. For Sylvia it was personal since as a child she grew up in a divorce household herself. Sylvia knew the things she wished would have been different or the things that worked best for their family and felt she could help other families going through a difficult situation as well. Family Law is so much more then just divorce. One of the things Sylvia enjoys as well is helping Dads who want more time with their kids or even grand parents who for what ever reason may not be able to see their grandchildren. When talking with her I could feel how much she cares about every client and it was not just a paycheck or a case. If you are looking for a caring family law attorney, please reach out to Sylvia Pociask.

If you are looking for a real estate agent to help you navigate the home sale process or purchase while going through a divorce, please reach out to me. After taking this course and receiving the RCS-D designation, it will help me not only be your real estate agent, but also a project manager to assist you the homeowners, lawyers, and mediators throughout the process.

Sylvia J. Pociask, Esq., Moss Pociask, LLC

2547 Big Bend Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63143

T: 313.963.0500 | D: 314.441.7044

E-mail: sylvia@mp-familylaw.com