How to Win Your Divorce from Your Cheating Husband
Technically, divorce laws no longer punish a spouse for infidelity in the United States. As of 2011, all states have options for no-fault divorces, and some states only allow divorces on no-fault grounds. In a no-fault divorce, you do not have to prove that your spouse behaved badly in order to get the divorce, and his behavior is not supposed to affect issues such as division of property or alimony. However, "supposed to" are the operative words. Judges are human, and sometimes they do take sides, if only subconsciously. Many state laws also have loopholes and offer alternatives that might allow you to "win" your divorce and make your cheating husband pay for what he did.
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Instructions
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Prove your husband's infidelity. It is not enough to make allegations to the court that he cheated on you. If you have any chance at all of swaying a judge into taking a dim view of your spouse and his behavior, you need evidence. The best way to do this is to hire a private investigator who will document his findings. If that's not in your budget, follow him yourself. Invest in a GPS tracking device. Hide it in or on your husband's car so you know where the vehicle really is at night when he's telling you he's still at the office. This allows you to make a record of his activities and potentially identify his girlfriend through an address or license plate number. Don't let your husband know that you are suspicious until you have the proof you will need in court. If he doesn't think you are onto him, he's less likely to be careful about his behavior. It is also very important to track and prove any financial transactions that can be linked to his girlfriend, such as credit card receipts for restaurants, hotels or gifts, so keep your eyes open for any he's left lying around and save them.
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Interview several divorce lawyers until you find one who is sympathetic to your situation. Because the law is not set up to punish your husband for cheating on you, you will need a good attorney who is willing to think outside the box and be open-minded regarding what you are trying to achieve. For instance, some no-fault states will not allow adultery to impact the division of marital property, but the judge will take it into consideration when deciding on alimony. And even no-fault states might tilt the division of marital property a little differently if you can prove your husband used marital funds and assets to entertain or support his girlfriend. You will need a lawyer who is willing to explore and use these angles.
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File a complaint for divorce that covers all your bases. The general rule with divorce complaints is to ask for everything under the sun up front in the complaint because it is difficult to add these requests for "relief" or what you want to achieve from the divorce, later. Ask for a bigger cut of assets because he has misappropriated marital funds by using them on his paramour. Add a tort claim for financial damages, charging that he intentionally caused you suffering by cheating on you or maybe even gave you a sexually transmitted disease. A judge can't give you these things unless you ask for them.
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References
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