In a perfect world, divorce would be a smooth and cooperative process in which both partners cooperate to come to a just marital settlement. Regretfully, reality frequently presents a different image. Tensions rise, emotions run high, and some people use dishonest means to obtain an advantage during their divorce processes.

If you are undergoing or planning to undergo a divorce, it’s critical to recognize these devious tactics and equip yourself with the information necessary to outwit them if you find yourself in the middle of a difficult divorce.

These tactics as given by divorce lawyers include:

Hiding income

In order to reduce their financial responsibilities, such as paying child support or spousal support (alimony), a spouse may try to hide their actual income after a divorce. In order to lower their taxable income, they may choose to conceal cash profits, postpone bonuses or commissions, or even fabricate business expenditures.

To fight this move, acquire financial documents that reveal your spouse’s income. This can be pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements. Look for discrepancies or inexplicable variations in their earnings.

You might even engage a forensic accountant to help you identify hidden income sources. If it is determined that your spouse has been concealing money, they may face legal sanctions, and the court may change support payments to reflect their true income which will be a win on your side.

Alienating you as a parent

Your ex-spouse may participate in parental alienation, which involves using the children to manipulate you. For example, they may withhold visitation privileges, create false allegations of abuse, or turn the children against you.

To counter this, you should document any instances of manipulation, and try to converse via text message to capture information that may be valuable.

Keep track of all encounters with your children. Maintain a cool demeanor and concentrate on their health. If necessary, bring in a neutral third-party mediator or child custody evaluator to assess the situation.

Coming up with debts

Your Ex may come up with false debts or exaggerate existent ones in order to decrease their financial obligation during the settlement process or to appear to have less discretionary income than they actually do.

To fight this, you should request proof for all stated debts in their divorce case, and verify their legality with financial disclosures. If you feel your spouse is inventing debts, consult with an attorney who can look into it further. If caught, your ex-spouse could suffer legal ramifications for their dishonesty.

Inflating expenses

A dishonest spouse may overstate or fabricate monthly expenses in order to collect more alimony or child support, giving the impression that they require more financial assistance than they actually do.

To avoid falling into this trap, request evidence for all reported expenses and compare them to previous spending patterns. If you feel your spouse is inflating their spending, consult with an attorney who can assist you find out the truth.

Invading your privacy

Your Ex may snoop on your personal communications, watch your travels on social media, or even install surveillance equipment in an attempt to obtain evidence that they can use against you in court.

To stay on the safe side, protect your privacy by updating passwords, securing your devices, and exercising caution when sharing personal information. If you learn that your spouse has invaded your privacy, notify your attorney because this behavior may be illegal and affect the outcome of the divorce.

Intentionally incurring debt

Your former spouse may purposefully incur debt throughout the divorce process. For example, they may take out loans or make substantial purchases on credit with the goal of burdening you with a share of the debt during the settlement process.

To avoid surprises, keep a watchful eye on your joint accounts and credit reports for any unexpected behavior. If you observe your spouse accruing additional debt, speak with your attorney, who can help you avoid being unfairly burdened with these new commitments.

When dividing liabilities in a divorce, the court may take into account the timing and purpose of the debt.

Delaying the divorce process

Someone can purposely prolong the divorce process by refusing to cooperate, rescheduling sessions, or filing frivolous motions. This might increase legal bills and cause emotional hardship for the opposing party.

To avoid this, maintain open communication with your attorney and stay organized to accelerate the process. If your spouse continues to stall, consider asking the court to impose deadlines or sanctions for their failure to comply.

Your ex-spouse quitting their job

In order to lessen their child support or alimony responsibilities, an ex-spouse may quit their employment, work fewer hours, or even take a lower-paying position.

What you should do in such a scenario is to collect documentation of your spouse’s work history, earning potential, and job offers. This way the family court may assign income based on their ability to earn rather than their existing income, resulting in larger support payments in your divorce settlement.

Ruining your reputation

In severe cases, your ex-spouse may fake claims of domestic violence, abuse, or infidelity in order to elicit sympathy from the court and influence the divorce outcome in their favor.

If this happens, gather proof to disprove fraudulent claims, such as witness accounts, photographs, or videos. Consult your attorney about how to appropriately handle these allegations in court.

Manipulating your emotions

Your Ex may try to elicit emotional responses from you, expecting to gain an edge by making you appear crazy or unstable.

If you think this is happening, you should maintain self-control and avoid heated disagreements. Keep a record of any attempts to manipulate your emotions and notify your attorney about them.

Parting shot

These are some of the dirty strategies that your ex might try to use to sabotage your divorce process. To be on the safe side, you should keep your eye out and don’t trust your ex to do the right thing.

As mentioned, it’s also highly important that you arm yourself with experienced family lawyers Fairfax VA who will not only help you navigate the murky divorce process, but also help you identify any dirty tricks that your Ex might be trying to use and help you combat them.