Every divorce creates stress. But if your spouse is a habitual liar, then it can feel like every step of the process is insurmountable. This can be overbearing, making it hard for the court to determine what’s true and what isn’t. It might seem easy to set the record straight, but in reality, your lying spouse might be persuasive. This, in turn, puts you at risk of a bad outcome if you’re unprepared to counter your spouse’s position.
So, what can you do to protect yourself from a lying spouse in your divorce? There’s no one right answer here, but let’s take a closer look at some ways that you can try to insulate yourself, protect your mental health, and secure the future that you want.
Tips for dealing with a lying spouse during divorce proceedings
Every lie that your spouse tells can have implications for your property division, child custody, and alimony determinations. Therefore, you need to know how to cut down your spouse’s lies and protect your interests in your divorce case. Here are some ways to do that:
- Gather concrete evidence: Your spouse’s lies may have no basis in fact, but the court isn’t going to know that unless you can demonstrate the truth. One of the best ways to do that is to gather evidence that contradicts your spouse. This includes financial records, school records, medical records, police reports, substance abuse records, and witness testimony. Don’t let your spouse get away with claims that you can easily contradict.
- Retain communications: Your spouse has probably made bold assertions to you over time in writing, either through text messages or email. These records can help set the record straight, allowing you to pin your spouse down on the statements that they’ve made. So, be sure to retain all these communications.
- Screenshot social media: If you have access to your spouse’s social media, then you might be able to find evidence that contradicts what your spouse is telling you. When you come across that evidence, you should capture it through a screenshot just in case the post is later deleted. If you don’t have access to your spouse’s social media, then you might want to talk to friends who do to see if there’s anything of value that they can help you obtain.
- Find perspective: It’s easy to write off your spouse as a habitual liar, but doing so will probably just lead to frustrations when you’re trying to deal with them. If you can find understanding as to why your spouse turns to lying, then you might gain some empathy for them. This, in turn, can make it easier to deal with them even when they’re being difficult. So, consider whether your spouse is lying as a defense mechanism, as a response to pain, or to deflect from their weaknesses.
Don’t let lies derail your divorce
There’s a lot on the line in your divorce, so you need to be able to take control of your case if you want to be positioned for a successful outcome. That means knowing how to address the various challenges that you’ll face, which may include dealing with a lying spouse, but also issues specific to child custody, property division, and spousal support.
So, if you want to learn more about how to effectively navigate your case, then please continue to read our blog and our website.