Divorce is likely to become more complicated whenever emotional or physical abuse is involved in a marriage. In these cases, chances are that the abuse was the primary or one of the key reasons leading to the divorce. Abuse can impact several details in the final divorce settlement. You should know how abuse can impact the divorce if you suffered emotional abuse during the marriage.

What Constitutes Emotional Abuse?

Domestic violence or abuse can take several forms. Physical abuse and sexual violence are common factors in domestic abuse. Emotional abuse may not inflict physical pain and harm, but it can be equally destructive. This type of abuse starts subtly and occurs over time. It is aimed at destroying the other spouse’s self-esteem and confidence. These are a few examples of emotional abuse:

Manipulating friends and children into fearing, disliking, or mistrusting the spouse
Verbal abuse
Isolation
Making threats
Insults
Criticizing appearance of your spouse, including the spouse’s clothing, weight, and hair
Controlling spouse’s daily activities, including decisions regarding children and finances
Shaming in front of family members and friends
Patronizing comments, public embarrassment, and belittling comments

You should not delay consulting with an attorney for protecting the safety of your family if you suffer from emotional abuse.

Effects of Emotional Abuse on Auburn, AL Divorces

Emotional abuse by one spouse can worsen once the victim files for divorce or leaves. This is a tactic employed by the abusive spouse for regaining control and keeping the victim in marriage. You should document every abusive instance carefully during the marriage and divorce proceedings.

In particular, you should save emails, text messages, voicemails, and handwritten notes. You should also make a note of all abusive conversations that occurred as and when they occur. This evidence is necessary for the custody part of a divorce lawsuit.

Custody and Emotional Abuse

Abusive spouse faces stark disadvantage when it comes to child custody. The judge will try and create a parenting plan that is in the best interests of the child. A parent’s abuse even when not against the child can reduce the likelihood of them obtaining custody.

These are a few factors considered by a judge while deciding child custody:

Mental and physical health of each parent
Capability of each parent to meet the child’s needs
Stability of each parent
Relationship of the child with each parent
Employment demands of each parent
Ties to siblings and extended family
History of domestic violence
Other factors as deemed necessary by the court

Parents that are in the habit of degrading, ridiculing, or emotionally abusing their children are less likely to obtain custody. You should get in touch with your attorney immediately if you believe that your spouse is using telephone calls or visitation time with the children to unduly influence them. Your attorney may be able to get supervised visitation or psychological evaluation depending on the situation.

Continuing Emotional Abuse

It is possible that the emotional abuse continues during the divorce proceeding. Physical abuse usually ends once the spouses separate, but emotional abuse may prevail. This may be done in a bid to influence the outcome of the divorce. For instance, the abusive spouse may manipulate the children to testify wrongly against the parent for seeking custody.

Likewise, the spouse may threaten to use photographs and personal information for embarrassing the spouse on social media. Subtle emotional abuse may continue to make the other spouse feel that they caused the marriage to fail. The abusive spouse may try and coerce the other spouse into saying yes to a less favorable settlement.

Continuing emotional abuse during divorce in some cases is nothing more than a type of punishment. The abusive spouse may want to punish you for trying to get out of the marriage.

Challenges in Proving Emotional Abuse

Since emotional abuse is often subtle, proving it can be challenging. Attorneys can help clients identify evidence that may be useful during a trial. Family members and friends can be helpful in proving emotional abuse. Co-workers can also describe situations in which emotional distress was intentionally inflicted.

Your attorney may use written evidence, like emails, social media posts, and notes to prove emotional abuse. You should be careful about maintaining records. You should keep a log of all contact with the spouse if they are threatening and abusing you during the divorce.

Intentional Emotional Distress

Whether you are separated or living together, your spouse doesn’t have the right to inflict intentional emotional distress on your or the children. You may have a cause of action beyond divorce if you can prove that the emotional abuse is continuing even after the divorce is finalized. However, it is difficult to prove the legal elements of intentional infliction of emotional abuse.

Talk to a Capable Alabama Divorce Attorney Today

Consulting with a divorce attorney is the first step in putting an end to emotional abuse. Your spouse is probably counting on the fact that you are too timid to speak up. You should consult with a capable and committed attorney about what is happening. The legal team at Alsobrook Law Group is here to help you hold your spouse accountable for their abusive conduct.

Give us a call at 334-737-3718 or use our online form to learn more and schedule a free consultation.

How Does Emotional Abuse Impact an Auburn, AL Divorce?

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