I found sexually explicit photos on my wifes phone and a years worth of emails confirming her involvement in a long term relationship. She claims I can use neither to prove anything because I looked without her permission. The email was open where she forgot to log out. The phone I did take to look at when she left unattended. I have other evidence such as call logs, gps info, third party observations of them together and her own admission. We had a great 9 year marriage and everyone thought we were the perfect couple. My question is how can I use the info. Are my chances for an aoa or cc suit good and worth pursuing. Im not looking to hit it rich just recoil my losses in equity due to our divorce. I am supporting spouse but moved out many months ago at her request in an attempt to repair our relationship. I’ve paid all her bills since. Stupid. I know but I was trying to save our family.
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Information gathered illegally are not admissible.
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AoA and CC suits are VERY expensive to pursue, not a sure win and judgments in NC are VERY difficult to collect on (generally speaking - you cannot garnish wages for this, it is difficult to attach to bank accounts, and there are limitations to what/how much you can take – you can’t leave them broke). These types of suits are generally only valuable when the paramour is wealthy. The media likes to throw AoA and CC stories out there because they are salacious however, getting a 1million dollar judgment against someone who doesn’t have 1 million dollars is worthless and leaves you with a lot of legal bills.
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The other legally collected evidence you have you can use as a bar to alimony.
I would guess if she was having an affair then your relationship wasn’t as perfect as you thought it was. I would work towards moving on, get a separation agreement, work towards a child custody schedule that is in the best interests of the children, use the calculator on rosen.com to figure out your child support obligation, divide your assets (stuff), and as I said, because she had an affair you should not owe any alimony. I would contact an attorney to draw up a separation agreement for you and cover your bases.
The email is admissible in court so long as you obtained it from the family computer, and did not intercept it, but rather read what she left open on the screen. Your looking at her phone is also perfectly permissible.
You may use the info as leverage in a AoA or CC suit against her paramour, if the case goes to trial, you may use it as evidence.
In relation to your divorce, the evidence can be used to prove infidelity and as a bar to alimony.