Divorce is one of the most stressful things in people’s lives with a great impact on their emotions, wallets, and legal status. It is not only that it will change the lives of two individuals but also children, their relatives, and close friends as well. Because the process is complicated and as crucial decision in life, many people tend to have some strategic thinking wherein some will employ some strategies to ensure they clinch victory while others will look for ways to avoid being exploited.

In this article, we will discuss what are referred to as ‘divorce strategy spoilers,’ those actions, legal steps and psychological tips that may bring an adverse impact on a particular divorce strategy of an individual.

Understanding Divorce Strategy Spoilers

Before proceeding to the means through which such strategies may begin to be undermined, it is important to understand what is referred to as a ‘divorce strategy’. A divorce strategy is a plan or a course of action that one party or both and possibly with the help of an attorney, to achieve a preferred result pertaining to the division of property, child custody, alimony and any other factor that has to do with divorce strategy spoilers.

Some common divorce strategies include:

1. Asset Concealment: Concealment of assets in order to limit the amount that has to be paid in cash.
2. Preemptive Custody Moves: In a bid to achieve an advantage in fight for child custody matters in parenting arrangements.
3. Alimony Manipulation: Planning of income or expenses which make it possible to limit alimony.
4. Timing the Filing: Filing an application for divorce at a certain time to increase chances of getting certain lump sum payment like bonuses, shares that might vest at certain time or other related factor like change of job status.
5. Emotional Manipulation: Manipulating on and exploiting the emotional weaknesses of the other spouse to be able to obtain a favorable compromise in the course of the divorce process.

Some can be intentional, while others are part-and-parcel of emotional disturbance that results from divorce. Still, such strategies can go wrong or be countered in a manner that shifts the entire landscape of divorce significantly. Now let us dig a little more into some of these divorce strategy spoilers.

1. Financial Transparency and Discovery

Another obvious method that couples engaged in divorce practices use is to conceal some property or assets. This could be through off-shore accounts with the help of the internet, failing to declare extra income to the tax authority or transferring the money to other people. The intention is simple: in other words, the party is able to retain more of his or her wealth after the dissolution of the marriage by lowering the apparent value of the assets.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Full Financial Discovery

In divorce litigation, therefore, a strong discovery process can actually ruin this plan. Spouses perform their best to get full financial disclosure, which is normally mandatory by law; one can obtain bank statements, income tax returns, and even hire a forensic accountant to search for any concealed assets. If one spouse tries to dissuade the other, hid assets, then there is a hefty price to pay since the judge can grant the spousal counter-party a higher share of assets or even file for contempt of court.

Preventive Tip: This should be done with the help of a competent financial advisor and without fail, a legal advisor before the start of the process. Embezzlement particularly is fatal to the credibility of your side in court as well as the outcome of the case in that particular court.

2. Using Children as Leverage

The children end up being victims of their parents’ fights, especially in custody issues where they may be used as war instruments by the two parents. Such a process can range from isolating the other parent right through parenting registration of false cases of abuse in order to be awarded full custody or more visitation rights.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Courts’ Focus on Child’s Best Interest

The best interest of the child and the welfare of a child are well understood and defined by the Judges and they are fully aware of the fact that the parents may turn the child against the other parent in the context of divorce cases. Intentionally filing a false report, or using children as pawns can blow up in one’s face tremendously. Such court entities as child custody evaluators or guardians ad litem (people, who investigate the situation all by their own) are assigned by the court. Child protection from abuse will entail a parent losing some custody or visitation rights if the parent is established to be deceiving the child or issuing fake accusations.

Preventive Tip: Pay particular attention to the aspects that Formal cooperative and civil relationship between parents is desirable. It is noteworthy that, in a contest between the child’s best interest and parents’ controversies, the courts lean towards the latter.

3. Alimony and Income Manipulation

Alimony is a huge issue and there are some persons who attempt to misappropriate their earnings for the purpose of decreasing the amount to be paid. Examples of this may entail deliberately diminishing ones earnings or exaggerating expenses with an aim of demonstrating one cannot afford to pay for spousal support.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Imputation of Income

Judges can estimate income of another spouse for the period of marriage and for support, if the judge thinks that the spouse is being untruthful in other ways, by earning less money than he or she can actually earn. For instance, if a professional employee decides to leave his or her lucrative employment and take low-waged position or even leave the workforce altogether, the court may decide that alimony should be calculated with reference to the previous earning or the ability to earn at that level.

Preventive Tip: This means that you must be truthful in your financial status. Judges and divorce attorneys are knowledgeable in the tricks of the trade, and most of them will not fail to pick recurring signals of the same. People can suffer from worse scenarios than getting a fair compensation when they try to seek advantage through flukes of the system.

4. Strategizing the Divorce Action in Order to Achieve the Best Timed Financial Gain

There can be cases wherein timing is very crucial in a divorce, whether it is expected that one or both parties will experience a change in financial status. For example a husband or wife may decide to only file for a divorce after receiving a bonus, stock options or an inheritance. On the other hand a person could sue for divorce before a major promotion so that they do not share future earnings.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Retroactive Adjustments

When it comes to alimony, the courts have the power to make modifications and one of them is to make changes over and above the original amount of divorce even if it was made many years back depending on the anticipated future earnings, bonuses, or other similar windfalls. If one spouse is able to demonstrate that the date of filing a divorce was done strategically with the purpose of affecting physical property or wages, a judge may alter an award with regard to the property or earnings in the future in order that equity be served.

Preventive Tip: Analyse the aforementioned financial consequences of decisions made during divorce and make sure that your actions do not seem vengeful. Courts will always make appropriate adjunctions that would enable proper settlements to be made.

5. Emotional Blackmail and Brainwashing

Divorce also triggers the worst in people, and cunning ways of getting the better of the other party is not uncommon. Coercive control could be observed when one partner seeks to manipulate the other, based on his/her emotional weaknesses, fears or guilt into making a decision that they both would otherwise disregards.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: (Personal):Love and Care as well as Legal Restrictions

It is for this reason that more family law attorneys are able to recognize various psychological factors leading to the divorce. They may suggest the attendance of therapists or coaches to assist their clients handle all the emotions that accompany the process. Also, it is worth mentioning that such remedies as protective or temporary restraining orders can be granted by a court if one of the spouses is using emotional abuse or manipulation.

Preventive Tip: It is important to maintain independence as a woman during divorce; talk to a therapist or counselor. Clarity of minds and feeling especially tranquil is a must in coming up with good decisions that will benefit your future.

6. Transferring Assets to another country or to third party

The actions which are taken to conceal assets from the spouse are different but common one is transferring the money to the offshore bank accounts or to some third party who can be trusted during the period of divorce. This one is usually in offshore trusts, or some form of foreign investment and is not easily traceable by the other spouse to regain the share that they rightfully deserve.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Forensic Accounting and International Cooperation

The cooperation in the financial investigations has been developed into the international level and the divorce attorneys increasingly use the particular forensic specialists in identification of the concealed assets of the counterpart. Upon the identification of assets, the court is in a position to sanction quite hefty penalties for the spouse who sought to conceal such properties, the sharing ratio can be adjusted as necessary.

Preventive Tip: To be more precise, the policy of the full financial transparency should be used. Seeking to dissuade offshore assets is likely to draw severe constitutional penalties including contempt charges which would worsen your financial state.

7. False Accusations Of Domestic Violence

Unfortunately, in some cases one of the party may decide to make false accusations with an intention of having an upper hand in the issue of custody or division of properties. Such allegations can potentially inflict personal and financial losses to the targeted person even if the charges are false and later dismissed.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Case Study, Investigation and Legal Consequences

Lack of domestic violence does not necessarily mean that it cannot be investigated thus if found to be an lies from the accuser she or he may be arrested. Sometimes, these courts may consider false accusations as a way of portraying stagnancy in a certain legal procedure in order to gain a certain advantage in child custody or even partition of assets.

Preventive Tip: In the case where one is falsely accused, he or she should closely coordinate with the lawyer to build evidence against the accusations. Do not argue and instead wait for the legal procedure to go through so that you are vindicated.

8. Behaviors to Engage in that Would Lead to the Other Parent Being Disliked

Parental alienation involves sewing hatred towards a parent in a child’s heart by the other parent, and it is quite damaging. This technique is used in order to minimize the physical contact of the other parent with the child or to gain sole custody in which the child is forced to reject the parent in question.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: A growing trend in the United States Courts to accept the phenomenon of parental alienation

Parental alienation has raised awareness as a tactic in the courts and in the worst situations, the courts may modify the custody agreements to protect the child further. Specialists from child psychology can be called as the experts when determining the child’s psycho-physical state, as well as detection of situations of alienation.

Preventive Tip: Do not discuss ill things about your spouse to your children. A third type of judgment is appreciated by the courts and it is the recognition of the healthy relationship between the child and both of its parents.

9. Use of Social Media that is False or Misleading

The posts shared on social media platforms can be used as evidence in courts and that’s why social media plays a huge role in the cause of divorce. A spouse might present him or herself inappropriately, publish material evidence or say things that are inapplicable to a case.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Social Media Monitoring

It is common practice for divorce lawyers to consider both the husband and the wife’s social networking profiles with an intention of capturing evidences from the two. The social tagging that may hinder the couple from getting a good settlement include; tagging that presents the spouse as having hidden assets, poor parenthood and even affairs.

Preventive Tip: Avoid being too keen on sharing the content that you come across on your social media accounts. For example, anything you post on the social media is potentially exploitable in a legal process or a trial.

10. Disregarding Legal and/or Financial Counseling

There is always that few people who will insist on winning the divorce at all costs regardless of the advice given to them by lawyers or even financial experts. This may result to stubborn or psychotic behaviors that have a negative bearing on the outcome of the case.

Divorce Strategy Spoilers: Judges Side with Reasonable and Well Prepared Parties

This is especially the case where a judge will always lean more towards the side of a party that arrives at the court well-prepared, well-mannered, and more than willing to bend a little in a negotiation. It is here that full scale attack procedures more often than not go against professional legal counsel and end up being disastrous in terms of petition outcomes where financial support and child custody are most often involved.

Preventive Tip: Do as your legal and financial consultants are advising you to do. The idea is that although they feel passionate about it and hence may become easily emotionally attached with it – people will get better results in the long run if they just listen to the experts.

Conclusion

Divorce is never an easy process and is full of different layers and stages; however, using tactics of deceit, hiding some information, and self-hysteria one can avoid most of the negative consequences tied with strategic manipulation. Major divorce strategy spoilers, which include; complete disclosure of assets and earnings, strong character and legal advisers, and legal advice will make it difficult for a party to employ dirty tricks and unprocedural tricks and thus result in a fair and balanced divorce outcome. In other words, the people are not doomed to ruin their ex-spouses and children in the process of divorce and you can also help yourself, knowing and cooperating with professionals.