Can I Sue My Ex-Wife For Damages Caused By The Divorce?

divorce lawsuitBy Nathan A. Hacker

Divorce Lawyer, Cordell & Cordell

Hotly contested divorce and child custody battles are not cheap. There are divorce attorney fees, court costs, travel expenses, lost income from taking off work, and other financial expenses.

But what about the emotional damages inflicted by your ex-wife? If she committed false allegations or denied your visitation rights, can you sue her for damages?

In general, yes you can sue.

Whether you will be successful or the judge will toss your case out of court is a different question altogether.

You may also be required to pay for your ex’s lawyer for filing a frivolous lawsuit. So, you need to be careful before you run to the courthouse with a suit in mind.

A lawyer can help decide whether you have a legitimate case or not.  In large part it will depend on which state you are pursuing your case.

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Can I Appeal?

Generally, if you are seeking damages you will want to look at what actual damages you have incurred and what speculative damages you may have incurred.

Actual damages are costs for which you can put a solid number on. Examples: attorney’s fees, court costs, travel expenses, replacement costs for damaged property is typical actual damages.

Examples of speculative damage are loss of consortium, loss of future earnings, pain and suffering, damage to reputation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Many states have restrictions on awards for these types of damages or may not recognize them at all. The more you can document damages the more likely you will be to receive an award.

In many family law cases the award of damages comes in the form of attorney’s fees for being forced to bring something to court that you should not have had to do. Your attorney would be able to provide the cost to the court in those instances.

For example,it is possible to bring a contempt petition for withholding a child against a court order during your parenting time. This would be a situation wherein you may be entitled to receive compensation for attorney’s fees for having to bring the court in when you should not have.

The most important advice I can give is to consult an attorney in your state. You are looking at issues of both tort law and family law.

To set up an appointment with a Cordell & Cordell mens divorce attorney, including Nathan A. Hacker, an Associate Attorney in Indianapolis, please contact Cordell & Cordell.

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19 comments on “Can I Sue My Ex-Wife For Damages Caused By The Divorce?

    My wife divorced me may-21 , she left me with astronomical bills . l am trying to survive off of disability. She left me with no insurance she had my utilities cut of . She now has a order of protection against me . l have been harrased by her soon through texts and in public , she abandoned her lease on our rental property she went behind my back and got a lease on another rental property can l do anything about this ?

    My husband I have been divorced for almost three years. I live in a different house now, but he is in contempt of court, because he has not tried to sell our home we lived in when we were married. Or Even refinance it. He has been late on payments and ruining my credit. Can I sue him for what half the house would sell for if he sales it. In our papers it stated that he had one year to basically get it out of basically my name but it is now shy of three years and he is still living there and it has ruined my credit. Plus so much more to this situation I live in Georgia and what can I do?

    My exwife just served me with childsupport papers againThe childsupport stoped because she 18 and finished high school.I live in texas .My lawyer told me to just file a motion to dismiss my court date is in August I havenot seen my daughter in Nine years She wont give me her Address all i have is her number .The child is not disabled. Her brother is her lawyer I can afford to fight her any help

    My husband wants a divorce. I left the girls with him because I didn’t have a place to take them and are daughter is special needs. I didn’t want to move because of school and her help she gets after schools. I haven’t seen the for months and I want to go to court but I am scared he might say will say that I never keep the from her and it might look in the eyes of the judge as abandoned and scared I will lose my girls for good. I just need to know if I go to the court would be a bad thing for me?

    Need legal input.
    My husband is to blame equally but his ex-girlfriend or girlfriend is still harassing me. Married 24 years.
    Police have been called. Recent Example:
    She parked outside my home and demanded that my husband watch her commit suiciide.
    my husband admitted to unprotected sex, I was infected with Herpes 2.
    This was from direct contact from placing cream to heal a painful blister my husband had after infection.
    This girlfriend is worth 5 million. Verified.
    Perhaps it is better to file here in my state.
    Is there any damages I can collect from her?
    Thank you.

    http://shebaqintadalis.web.id/images/wells/

    Yes my wife took off with out me knowing and I have not seen rhem in 12 years now I miss my boys every much she won’t let me see them are talk to them I pay my childsupport every week .and I am in meds from that I stay depressed where I can’t even want to work please tell I miss my kids so bad

    Sue her for withholding visitation. I believe it’s a felony now? This is ridiculous how support is enforced but not visitation because most people feel they have to shut up and pay. More people need to stop this parental warfare of withholding children. This causes the child, emotional harm. Please seek an attorney’s help. I am sorry this happened. Find out about kidnapping laws. Is there a custody order outlining visitation?

    Hi I was married for 40 years good wife and mother, worked hard all my life! However my husband has lost me everything, properties business walk away from company when it was in administration! And took my clients and started again on his own, I don’t no if this is legal to do so, lost me my home now I am homeless, he had a Directors loan in his name, not mine which all the proceeds of the assets went to administration. I was awarded 50p a year how can this be as he was the one destroyed everything. Call this justice. If it was not for me he would had nothing.

    Well my ex kicked me out if oyr traiker with no advance warning, said he is taking the trailer with him ti his far away job, knowing my tenp. Jib was ending in five days, he took his trailer and jyst parked it at the parks stirafe, he continued yo pay the storage fees, I had no whefe to live no job no money nothing, about two weeks later he fi ds me and is the sweetest guy and convinces me to go to library to file a divorce together cvially, using the online court assistance program, as I was tyyping up the truths about stuuff I found out shortly after marriage, like I found fake I.d.s and ss cards, he is a illegal citizen by the way, ,,any ways, I found a governent issued driver license dfrom ne ada state witth his picture and his singatyre, but the name was not his own, also social security cards one with his legitimet name and another with the other name which was on the license, I started becoming suspicious , I didnt say nothing , well how clever is it that he cant find work. Cuz he is illegal, so next thing I know im calinh my brother and asking if he woukd be hmy ex sponsor because we went to talk to a immigration lawyer, we as u can see I figured out his real reasons for marrying me, so I cintinued to type up all this that has happened in the divirce papers, he said so sweet no no no dont put nothing bad about me, I asked what he wanted me to lie it is on a go ernent paper I could go to prison if I lied here, he did t care, sso we couldnt agree on nothing we coukd only talk in public at the library cu:z he would aleays get me so low that I would do anything he asked, well he made me all these promises to fix my broken car which he had bought for me to ge tv to work, he peimised that he will helo ne out financially until I find aplace to live and a hib, he ga e me fifty bucks the night I typed in the divorce , the reasin for divorce in his words were we fell out of love .. period, we filed he paid and he primised In the decree to pay half of our bank account whicnh he had taken his self off about a mo th prior, well I have heard from him since he ahas not cfell through with anyof his promises and not helped me pay any of our bills which were in my name ,

    What about the husband that had nothing and married for money? He took it ALL after gradually degrading me for over 12 years. I had a great career and a house.. He had NOTHING!

    After getting me pregnant he had sex with women and men, abused me and our children and used all of US.

    Poor men that are liars and cheaters and want to blame women for their failure to control themselves!

    I am college educated, had a ton of money, put my ex through school and he makes over $500K a year. I am broke and pay child support for a man that beat me and used me and our children.

    Living out of my car now.

    Tell me how many months you carried a child in you or the risks you took to your own health to do so. None! You had 3 seconds of a muscle spasm!

    All lies
    I found out that my soon to be ex. Has had a 10 year affair and every one in her family knew. I don’t know why but they always do what ever crazy thing she wants. I was mentally tortured and abused The family of the gut firmly believes my firs boy is his. It’s funny how there was many more gifts and same people. My sons God father is related to the guy so I guess we know why she chose him. I did not wish to Dna test him four months ago. Well I did but was accused of domestic violence and had to put all my energy money in to it. Truth is. Regardless of the test he’s my son. I was there always. He’s a coward. Who to the day won’t show hiz face. I will test just for medical reasons but he’s mine. He even looks like me. A lot. But I find it very hard to b normal. It’s always there. She won’t answer anyangthing. Just says am crazy. It’s. Amazing how much planing they did to plan out events. Like my Childs baptism. Witch he’s there. Only reason I found out. I s the tape. A tape that never existed. She set It up that day. And ln the end she said I dont know at happen. Didn’t record. Can I sew them. I want my kids away from them all. Is scary to think what that could do to him. Me am broken a total mess. I don’t function well. Am always just picking my brain. Wishing I knew why. Or what was real. I actually got help with shrink and after fur doctors they said it is not made up. My reason. To think all this is life time of events that just all come together. Sad. But no one cares. It’s like am a rag. No one uses.

    My husband lied about everything in court! His lawyer slandered my name and accused me of things I did not do. He played dirty and lied on the stand many times over. His lawyer was friends with the judge! Don’t hate women and don’t lump all women together. There are many more women than men who are losing in divorce court in epic proportions. The media just doesn’t report it! My husband is walking away with millions and I am left homeless and penniless. At 55, it will be very difficult to recoup what we saved during our 26 year marriage . I can’t appeal because I don’t have the money. The judges have too much power. Their rulings should not be made on who they think is credible!!! Psychopaths are believable liars! Laws have to change and judges should not be allowed to use their discretion when making rulings!!!

    I hear you! So true about corrupt decisions based on legal relationships. Even if you have proof that they are lying, a corrupt judge will keep it out. So much injustice in every state’s family courts. Family Court judges are worse than thieves, because the break their oaths. Americans should stop participating in the activity that gets them there in the first place. If our children are smart, they’ll stop having relationships & kids, and let civil attorney’s lose their homes & money. Let their lives fall apart for a change! They can take the politicians who make the “loopholes” with them!

    I just found out ny partner of three yrs has been cheating on me since Oct 15, 2014. I once again found thru FB, and when i confronted her and told her she was busted and lied about everything, her response, was she lied about nothing. Thats funny because when i asked her about her 1st ex husband being at her daughter’s 16th bday, she said no, just her half sisters, when i asked bout her going to see fifty shades by herself, then dinner then home, she lied, her 1st ex husband was there, she lied about telling me she wanted to give more to me in the relationship, that was lie, she wanted to marry me, yet another lie. I supported her for three years, got proof, gave part of my check to her, shows on my pay stub. i want to sue her for financial distress because i lived in my truck the whole time i supported her. She lives on welfare, ssi and whatever that loser 1st ex husband pays in child support. What kind of lawyer do i need?

    settle fast
    there is one rule men need to understand, in this country they have almost no rights against women. there’s nothing a man can do against a vindictive woman so the best option is to cut the losses and settle fast.

    the laws are rigged so the longer a man fights the deeper he gets. settle fast and get as much distance from her as you can. don’t talk to her, don’t email her, don’t call her, don’t answer her. don’t even look at her. nothing.

    How do I stop her?
    Yes, what you just said is exactly the situation that I’m in. I have an ex (scientist) who has her attorneys paid for by her legal aid at her prestigious work location. She has kept me in court since 2009 non-stop and will not stop harassing me as a self employed guy. Constantly trying to prove that all of my money is complete income. She makes close to $90,000 per year plus endless legal perks and is pissed off because she didn’t like my business. She put an injunction against me so that I could not have the kids around when I conducted any business so I sold it, the very asset that was paying her child support. She then got upset because she could no longer afford the most expensive private school in town. I purchased another business which ultimately failed so now I’m pretty much broke, nearly homeless, and she has had me in court every single month for the past 11 months at least 2 times per month. When will this stop? Please make it stop. I have attorney bills now far greater than I can afford and she knows it, I can hardly afford gas and food. I’m only trying to see my kids like a normal father and pay child support that does not exceed my current monthly income. Unfortunately that is the sad truth at the moment. I feel that my kids are getting the sad end of the stick because she filed temporary orders against me seeing them until I can afford a better place but how do I do that when she keeps me in court ALL the time literally? Any suggestions?

    How about the children becoming less fortunate? Can they sue?
    How about losses to a good husbands lively hood? Most men that are a success are self employed running bussiness efficiently from the house he worked hard to get. He has very little actual living expense as the bussines pays his mortgage. So when he has wife troubles , files for his divorce, she puts him and his bussiness homeless. How can a homeless man pay to relocate bussines , his own place, lawyers, CPA s additional office managers to keep track of his expensive change, and pay all the full non tax detectable expense of his old house?

    He fires as many workers as possible. Down sizes at all the wrong times. Custermers are lost for ever. And his poor kids go from having a successful wonderful father to a degraded man that’s struggling . The wife then turns everyone she can against him including and pro woman in his own family. Also her and her attorney start trying to prove everything in his bussiness is profit. Meanwhile no one ever even looks at her income or bank records.

    The outcome also ends with the husband always paying her attorney fees. Along with alimony and child support.

    The children suffer long term financial damages.. So can they not sue??? And why is this allowed in our country? Why are women never held accountable ???

    I am the wife , 55 years old and an unemployed teacher looking for work. my husband made false claims in divorce court and lied. We were married 26 years, but he lied an said we were separated for 10 of those years. I lost everything! I didn’t even get spousal support. The judge believed everything my husband and his lawyer said. I incurred $350,000 in lawyer fees, which he wasn’t ordered to pay any part of! He incurred 700,000 in fees. my husband makes $500,000 per year. He has refused to help our sons college expenses and medical expenses, we have two sons with type I diabetes. The judge ordered sale of home and has ordered me to pay my husband $3,500 a month rent knowing I can’t afford it! There are lawyer liens on home so I will get no $. My boys and I have to find an apartment to move to. I am scared. My husband is diabolical. Right now he lives in an upscale apartment with a woman 37 years younger than he. So, women get screwed over, too! It all depends on the lawyers, the judge and if one party has a personality disorder. From my experience, more women are getting raked over the coals in cities where there is high income. Did you know that the highest demographic in poverty is middle aged women?

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