Four Unusual Tricks Spouses Attempt During Divorce

 Posted on May 04, 2018 in Divorce

Divorcing spouses are often looking for an edge against each other to receive a more favorable division of property or allocation of parental responsibilities. Some will resort to manipulative or illegal tactics, such as hiding assets or lying about the other spouse’s personal conduct. Catching your spouse in a lie will stop the illegal tactic and possibly lead to punishment. Your spouse may surprise you by how far he or she is willing to go to obtain an advantage during your divorce. The tactic may seem especially cruel or make no sense because your spouse is hurting him or herself as much as you. Here are four dirty tricks that spouses have used during their divorces:

1. Quitting Work: Spouses may under-report their incomes to gain an advantage in child or spousal support. People who are self-employed or run their own businesses can reduce their earnings during the divorce with the intention of increasing them once the divorce is over. However, some spouses will go as far as quitting their jobs during the divorce. They may take a lesser-paying job and plan to go back to their original career after the divorce is finished.
2. Spending Spree: Some spouses convince themselves that they would rather lose their money than have to share it after the divorce. Starting the divorce process will prevent spouses from withdrawing money from their shared financial accounts. However, a spouse could withdraw money from individual accounts, such as a retirement plan. The spouse then wastes the money on unnecessary expenses so his or her assets are less valuable during divorce.
3. Getting Someone Fired: A vengeful divorcee may make untrue or exaggerated accusations of misconduct against his or her spouse with the intent of causing the spouse to lose his or her job. Trying to get a spouse fired is self-damaging because the spouse will no longer have the income to provide child or spousal support. Instead, the newly unemployed spouse may be the one needing support.
4. Fake Social Media Account: Spouses can submit each other’s social media posts as evidence of financial misconduct or lack of parental fitness. If one spouse does not have social media accounts, the other spouse may create fake accounts in order to fabricate the evidence. The impersonated spouse would need to subpoena records from the social media companies to prove that the accounts are fake.

Protecting Yourself

Many dirty tricks used during a divorce are preventable if you notice them in time. A Kane County divorce attorney at Goostree Law Group can help you identify illegal tactics that your spouse may use during your divorce. Schedule a free consultation by calling 630-584-4800.

Source:

https://www.womansdivorce.com/dirty-divorce-tricks.html