What is At-fault divorce and what does it has to do with a father’s divorce? What are the at-fault divorce states and countries? At-fault divorce is a legal concept where one spouse can file for divorce and claim that the other spouse is at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. In such cases, the alleging spouse must prove the grounds for the divorce, such as infidelity, cruelty, or abandonment.
Different couples have different reasons for divorce. In some states in the United States, people can choose to use at-fault divorce or no-fault divorce. In no-fault divorce, the property after marriage should be half of each person, and the custody of children should be equal on both. However, if it is an at-fault divorce, some states or countries will require the party at fault to “pay more and receive less”. In some countries, at-fault divorce can also affect child custody assignment.
In the United States, there are some states that still impose at-fault divorce laws, although many have shifted towards no-fault divorce laws where the breakdown of the marriage is considered sufficient grounds for divorce. The states that still have at-fault divorce laws are: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
At-false divorce is prone to false/fake accusations and perjury?
Many advocates began to promote the amendment of the law in the direction of no-fault divorce. Why do people, especially fathers, prefer no-fault divorce? If a father happens to divorce because his wife is having an affair and at fault, he will support at-fault divorce and be very angry with the movement of no-fault divorce. However, from another perspective, at-fault divorce will actually incentivize divorcing spouses (especially when some dads claimed that their ex-wives can persuade people much easily) to plan their divorce and slander her ex-partner.
The reason is obvious. In order to let her husband become the “faulty party” under the law of at-fault divorce, so that she can get more benefits, get the his assets/property, snatch the child, and get better deals in everything. Therefore, she starts to frame him, speak ill of him, fabricate a domestic violence incident that never happened and apply for Temporary Restraint Order (TRO).
The frightening thing is that even if the act itself is illegal in order to fabricate that the husband is at fault, however, due to the shortcomings of the current family court, even if it is finally proved that these allegations do not exist, it is difficult to prove that these allegations are illegal. Even when it has been proved that it is a false accusation, if the severity is not as serious as the court determined, the party who framed it can often get away with it. Although she lied and broke the law, she does not need to be responsible. In some cases, fines are settled, but no criminal prosecution is issued. Since people never been a false accusation backfired to get the accuser criminally charged, it is rumored that sometimes lawyers will teach her clients to do this in order to get the best benefit in a at-fault divorce system. Hence, the at-fault divorce has been a target a reform by some advocates.
How do fathers successfully get through an at-fault divorce system?
For fathers, there are several important points to note to enhance their chance of getting through an at-fault divorce system intact.
First, be calm. The father should know that, when his wife is trying to take advantage of the at-fault divorce, she will often begin to spread rumors to her close family and friends about how he mistreated her and how bad a husband (and a failed father) he was. First of all, when he sees this, he will definitely go off. He’ll be be surprised and helpless, and might try to resolve with her by being nice with her. Then he will be even more angry and surprised when being nice no longer works. The father has to know that it’s just her legal strategy. The father also has to know, once his ex-wife decided to divorce, there is no turning back. Even though she may struggle in her heart, she still carry through the plan until the final phase – when he finally sees it. It’s often too late when he sees it.
Second, collect good evidence. When the father sees his spouse getting the way to divorce, he should try to collect evidence as much as possible. Although it is not easy to prove that he has not done something, the purpose of collecting evidence is to record he did something good, not to prove he didn’t do the bad. When his wife presents fake evidence (for example, a domestic violence incident on a certain night), he can provide evidence from other days, proving that the family was very happy every night in the past few days, and the day after she lied about the domestic violence, everyone was still happy look. It will be very helpful.
Third, collect her bad evidence. when she fabricates rumors which are not good for him, one thing he can do is: take the initiative to collect some evidence about her that may not be helpful to the lawsuit. The main purpose is to convince outsiders that what she said are not true. Please note that the most effective way to collect this kind of evidence is not the evidence of “I am good”, but the evidence of “She is bad”. This is because the reason why most people don’t believe him is because they don’t believe her (As a seemingly weak and kind mother) would do such a thing (making fake evidences and lying she’s been mistreated). If she is not lying, then he is at fault. Therefore, it is helpful to collect evidence of her bad, including but not limited to: a vicious conversation, a verbally violent phone call, a picture of her taking medicine, evidence of her own cheating…
Fourth, don’t try to convince the kids. Often when his ex-wife releases such a strategy, the child must also be one of her brainwashing targets. This part, on the contrary, does not need to be concerned. The child knows. There is no way to block the relationship between him and his child. Therefore, when it comes to the children, the father can just be himself, and he don’t need to be particularly distressed in front of his child. The father should not try to tell the children that what the mother said is false. This will put a lot of pressure on the child and affect the relationship between the father and the child. Don’t let this smear tactic break in and explain anymore to the children or ask the children to express loyalty to him (the father). Acting as if nothing happened in front of the children is recommended by experts.