In an ideal world, you and your spouse would be able to work through your divorce in a fair and amicable way. In reality, though, if you’re like a lot of couples, the pain associated with your soured relationship makes it difficult to discuss touchy topics like property division, child custody and alimony. In fact, you may find that it’s impossible to carry on a meaningful conversation with your spouse because they seem to lie about everything. To you, this may be frustrating and downright ridiculous. But if you don’t set the record straight, then the court may issue rulings based on your spouse’s lies, which could be incredibly detrimental to your future.
Therefore, the burden is on you to figure out the best way to correct your spouse’s lies and protect your interests. That can be frightening to think about if you’re intimidated by your spouse, but the process doesn’t have to be as confrontational as you think, especially if you have an attorney on your side. So, let’s look at some strategies you can implement to correct any falsehoods spouted by your spouse.
Techniques for highlighting lies told by your spouse
It might feel like your marriage dissolution is spinning out of control when your spouse starts to lie. But the truth is that you could have several ways to bring out the truth. Here are some of the most effective that you and your attorney should think through:
- Use incontrovertible documentary evidence: Your spouse can say whatever they want, but if you have credible documentary evidence that says otherwise, then the court is going to find it hard to believe whatever it is that your spouse is claiming. That’s why it’s imperative to gather financial records and other documentation that’s relevant to your divorce and the legal issues you’re confronting. This could include mental health and substance use treatment records as well as your child’s education records.
- Depose your spouse: A deposition, the process of taking sworn testimony outside of court and prior to trial, can pin your spouse’s statements down. If they then stray from the testimony they gave at their deposition, you can point out the inconsistencies, which the court will likely deem to be a sign of untrustworthiness. This can completely wreck their credibility and the reliability of their case.
- Scour social media: People post all sorts of things that are contrary to their interests. Therefore, if you look at your spouse’s various social media pages, you might see written statements and pictures that contradict what they’ve claimed at other times. You can screenshot these posts so that you can use them as evidence at trial, assuming they don’t give you the leverage needed during settlement negotiations.
- Find favorable witnesses: You don’t want your divorce to turn into a he-said, she-said situation. So, try to find credible witnesses who can back up your claims and contradict whatever lies your spouse is telling. Just be prepared for your spouse to attack the credibility of this testimony if those witnesses are motivated to testify against them.
Don’t let a lying spouse get the best of you in divorce
There’s a lot at stake in your marriage dissolution. You can’t afford to let your spouse get the upper hand by telling lies to you and the court. So, before moving forward with your divorce, anticipate what falsehoods may come up in your case so that you can develop and implement effective legal strategies to confront them. Hopefully then you’ll protect your interests and your future by beating back your spouse’s claims and securing the outcome that you want.
