What Judgment to Expect in a Fault Divorce
My question involves a marriage in the state of: Virginia
My husband and I have not begun the divorce process yet and he is a bitter person that seems willing to spend every penny we own to take everything I own. So to speak. He is going to file for an at fault divorce because I had an affair. Assuming he wins, he says he will take custody of the kids and my equity in the house and demand child support from my income. He will basically kick me out of the house and make me pay him child support. This seems extreme, but he has a lawyer that has convinced him it's possible. The value of our assets isn't enough to even pay the legal fees.
The best part is he is using this as leverage to force me to reconcile.
I know there are a lot of factors that I left out. Is his lawyer's assessment of the award even realistic?
Re: What Judgment to Expect in a Fault Divorce
You should consult a lawyer of your own with the facts of the case, and whether your husband's willingness to continue the marriage despite knowledge of your affair would be treated as condonation (in essence, forgiveness) in relation to a fault-based claim. The courts of your state do not have to divide the marital estate equally but often do, even in cases involving fault -- you will want to get a sense from a local lawyer about what the local judges are likely to do. For custody, courts look at the best interest of the children and will often focus on how the parties have traditionally divided child-rearing duties.
Re: What Judgment to Expect in a Fault Divorce
If there is no hope of reconciliation and divorce is imminent, for many reasons it may be more prudent for you to retain a good divorce attorney and file first.