Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

I am an active duty sailor stationed in Japan since June 2007. I have been having lots of problems with my relationship with my wife and 3 months ago we decided that we will be getting a divorce. Just recently on Facebook, my wife changed her status to "in a relationship". Thinking this was a mistake I ignored it and thought it was me, until people were asking her who she was in a relationship with and she commented: "it's Travis and I don't care who knows it..." My name is not Travis and it's not a joke like her and someone else are such good friends that she considers them in a relationship.

What can I do to use this to my advantage in my divorce settlement?

Will a screenshot of facebook with a time stamp be sufficent evidence to prove her adultry?

What kind of benefit will I have with the divorce settlement with this evidence?

Thank you.


Asked on 4/22/10, 3:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

If you have evidence of adultery, it can assist you in receiving an uneven distribution of assets in your favor (i.e. instead of a 50/50 split, it could be 55/45 or 60/40 in your favor) as that goes to "fault in the breakup" of the marriage.

Snapshots from Facebook, statements from your wife about her paramour, receipts showing she is spending your community assets on her new boyfriend, all of these are evidence to establish your claim.

If your wife is comitting adultery in front of the children, that could affect your parenting rights (requesting the court give you primary custody, since she can't seem to keep her children's interests above her own).

Since you are on active duty, you are entitled to a number of advantages over regular folks, like requesting the court's assistance in scheduling hearings for when you are Stateside, or requesting your testimony be presented by telephone. Texas Judges will go out of their way to accomodate those in the military as they appreciate all you are doing to protect our country, our citizens, and our freedom.

Hope that helps.

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Answered on 4/27/10, 7:14 am


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