Adultery: Grounds For An Immediate Divorce In Frederick Maryland

What You Need In Frederick Maryland To Prove A Case Of Adultery:

Grounds for Divorce Based Upon Adultery Are the Only Statutory Grounds in Maryland that Entitle a Spouse to an Immediate Divorce Without any Waiting Period.

I can count on one hand the number of adultery cases I have handled where the television style proof of adultery was presented or even available. The truth is, it’s just not usually necessary. The truth is that people don’t usually care. In Frederick Maryland divorce and custody cases things rarely get that exciting.

Most Maryland divorce cases, which proceed from an act of adultery straight through a Judgment of Divorce, commonly involve nothing more than a mere suspicion of adultery . Sure, sometimes there is direct evidence left by the cheating spouse. But, in the vast majority of cases, at some point, the cheater just “comes clean” to get the divorce over and done with.

The legal standard to prove adultery, in Frederick or elsewhere in Maryland, does not require juicy and theatrical direct evidence such as pictures through the peephole. The Maryland appellate courts (that is the high courts that set the rules for the family law courts) acknowledge that the act of adultery is “clandestine by nature”. For that reason, the vast majority of successful adultery claims are proven solely with evidence of a) disposition and b) opportunity.

When the cheater does not acknowledge the adultery, these elements are the only evidence required.

Disposition: means you have evidence that the cheating spouse and the person with whom you suspect the adultery have a “disposition” toward affection. An example would be someone who saw them, hugging, holding hands, dirty dancing etc.

The second element to prove an adultery in Maryland is “opportunity” for them to act upon that disposition toward affection. An example would be spending time alone in the same hotel room, closet, pup-tent or anywhere else that two consenting adults might engage in what is described by the latin: en flagranti delecto.

So, you don’t need to spend a small fortune on private investigators or spend countless hours torturing yourself by following your spouse around, reading your spouse’s email, texts, cell phone records etc. all just to determine whom she/he is sleeping with. Sadly, most people will do that anyway for personal reasons but beware the pitfalls.

When you try to collect evidence respecting adultery you unwittingly create an environment where your cheating spouse may be able to prove you are following them, spying on them, stalking them etc. In my experience, spending time and effort trying to create a case for adultery is far more likely to expose you to a trumped up restraining order than it is to be of any benefit to your case.

After all these years as a Frederick Maryland divorce and custody lawyer I have come to firmly believe in the following adage:

“If you think your spouse is chaste, you may be right. If you think your spouse is cheating, you are definitely right.”

Child Custody Attorneys in Frederick Maryland

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