In most cases, divorcing spouses are open about their assets and circumstances so that a fair settlement can be reached, whether this is regarding finances or surrounding the children. But there are those who wish to control the narrative or try to keep assets secret.
If your spouse lied during the marriage, odds are that they will not stop being dishonest during the divorce process. Therefore, as you prepare to legally end your relationship, you will need to find ways to prove it if you are to protect your interests and secure the financial resources and child arrangements that is fair and just. But how can you hold your spouse accountable for their lies and ensure that you get a fair outcome in your divorce? This article outlines some of the issues and the ways in which they can be addressed.
What are the ways to handle a lying spouse in a divorce?
Fortunately, there are several ways to address this issue. Here are some that you might want to consider implementing during the divorce process:
- Use documentation – if your spouse is lying about financial matters, then you can probably disprove them by showing documentation to rebut their lies. If the lies relate to your ability to care for your children, then seek out school and medical records that show otherwise and gather all the records you need to paint a clear picture.
- Reduce communications to writing – your lying spouse is probably going to try to manipulate your statements to fit their goals. You can prevent them doing this by putting everything in writing; that way you can refer back to it when needed.
- Keep a diary/journal – if you end up having face-to-face interactions with your spouse, then you should write down what happened in a diary/journal when the incident is fresh in your memory. This will help you avoid a situation where your spouse tries to convince you that events played out differently than you remember. It is also useful as an aide-mémoire if you need to write a witness statement.
In children proceedings, if there is any dispute regarding the parties respective version of events and this affects the judge’s ability to make a substantive decision, they may order a fact finding hearing to take place. This is where the allegations are put to the court to decide the disputed facts. The standard of proof is “on the balance of probabilities” which means that the court needs to be 51% sure than an allegation/incident took place.
Having a fact finding hearing is not necessarily appropriate in every matter, not even every matter where a party is making allegations of bad behaviour. The judge only needs to decide on the allegations to the extent that they are relevant to determine the issues relating to a child’s future welfare, which is the paramount concern of the court.
Such allegations may include, but are not limited to:
- Accusing an ex of being emotionally unstable, having a drug or alcohol problem, or of being a negligent or abusive parent
- Fabricating child abuse allegations and making false reports to social services about their ex-partner
When you are dealing with an ex who is willing to lie, protecting your rights can be difficult without a legal representative. Unless you go through the proper channels to out your ex’s lies, it is easy to make yourself appear petty or vindictive, even if your intentions are only bringing out the truth. Seeking independent legal advice can help you understand the best way to present your evidence, protect your rights, and ensure your spouse does not get a divorce settlement or child arrangements order based on lies or misrepresentations.
What happens if you lie in family court?
Unlike criminal courts where police evidence supports the prosecution case, family disputes often come down to one person’s word against the other. In child disputes, one parent’s version of events may be drastically different from the other’s. Most domestic violence incidents happen behind closed doors, so there may be no witness evidence to corroborate the victim’s story. In finance cases, a spouse may be completely in the dark about the true extent of their spouse’s wealth which makes it easier for them to give misleading information on their Form E. In 2022, a man was sentenced to seven and a half months imprisonment after he dishonestly edited emails from estate agents to lower the value of the family home during divorce negotiations.
Lying in a family case can also amount to perjury, although this is complicated because someone would have to know that what they are saying is a lie. That is often not the case in family proceedings where emotions run high. Often, one party will genuinely believe that a statement is true even if no one else would interpret what happened in the same way.
In addition, the lie must be made under oath, so anyone giving false evidence at a court hearing will meet this requirement. However, a lot of the information shared in family proceedings is not submitted under oath, although technically any false information given in these documents would probably amount to a lesser offence such as making a false declaration of truth.
Lying in court is risky and can have some or all of the following consequences:
- The judge may draw a negative conclusion from the behaviour which might influence their decision. For example, in children proceedings, the lying party may end up with less time with their children that they would otherwise have had.
- If the judge believes someone is hiding assets, they can award the other party more of what the judge knows is there, taking a broad brush approach about what other assets are available.
- The lying party might receive a costs order made against them, particularly where the case has taken longer, and additional costs have been incurred because of the lie.
- The lying party may be held in contempt of court. Although this is not a criminal offence, it can result in fines, community orders or up to two years imprisonment.
- There is the possibility of perjury and its maximum 7-year prison sentence.
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