10 Down And Dirty Divorce Tricks

Warning: Not all of these tricks are entirely legal!

By first wives world — Written on May 30, 2009

For certain people, divorce — or even the thought of divorce — brings their very worst qualities to the fore.

Divorce is an emotional roller coaster. When people are really hurting, particularly if they have been "swapped" for somebody else, self-preservation becomes all-important. But for some, such a state of mind leads to all-consuming hatred, malice and a desire for vengeance.

After 25 years as a divorce solicitor, nothing surprises me anymore. Drawing upon my own experiences — some of them eye-opening — I have compiled a countdown of the top ten dirty divorce tricks.

The first five are below. I wish to stress that none of them are recommended; indeed, some of them are illegal!

10. Moving the spouse to a different country in order to obtain a more favourable divorce settlement. This may sound far-fetched but, as I have noted in a previous post, it happens more frequently than one might think.The trusting spouse does not realize that the promised life of sun and fun is never destined to materialize. Instead, a divorce looms in a country in which financial settlements are far more modest than in rainy England.

9. Covert surveillance of a spouse by bugging the phone, the car, the office — or by employing an enquiry agent. When a spouse is suspected of having an affair, all sorts of surveillance techniques can be used. One client told me that her husband would wait until he was in the car to discuss his affair with friends, or with the Other Woman herself. The wife placed a recorder under the car seat, and recorded all his telephone calls. Although it gave her satisfaction, I question the need in law. It isn’t necessary for a divorce, and it is likely to leave the Judge wondering about the character of someone who goes to these lengths. Where discretion is needed for a financial settlement, this type of conduct can backfire.

Read the rest at First Wives World.