INFIDELITY & DIVORCE

INVESTIGATIONS

Divorce may be common, but it can also be a complicated legal procedure. Divorces are generally categorized as contested or uncontested. In a contested divorce, the parties cannot agree on at least one issue; in an uncontested divorce, the parties agree to all terms.

A cheating spouse can be devastating. The insecurity and helplessness caused by doubt and mistrust associated with the infidelity can be life-altering and incredibly damaging to an individual mentally, physically, and emotionally. Veritas Detective Agency is skilled in providing evidence in the most complex, contested divorce cases.

There are different grounds for a divorce, separation, and annulment.  In Georgia, there are 13 grounds for divorce:

• Intermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity.
• Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage.
• Impotency at the time of the marriage.
• Force, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the marriage.
• Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the husband, at the time of the marriage, unknown to the husband.
• Adultery in either of the parties after marriage.
• Willful and continued desertion by either of the parties for the term of one year.
• The conviction of either party for an offense involving moral turpitude, under which he is sentenced to imprisonment in a penal institution for a term of two years or longer.
• Habitual intoxication.
• Cruel treatment, which shall consist of the willful infliction of pain, bodily or mental, upon the complaining party, such as reasonably justifies apprehension of danger to life, limb, or health.
• Incurable mental illness. No divorce shall be granted upon this ground unless the mentally ill party has been adjudged mentally ill by a court of competent jurisdiction or has been certified to be mentally ill by two physicians who have personally examined the party; and he has been confined in an institution for the mentally ill or has been under continuous treatment for mental illness for a period of at least two years immediately preceding the commencement of the action.
• Habitual drug addiction, which shall consist of addiction to any controlled substance as defined in Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16
• The marriage is irretrievably broken. Under no circumstances shall the court grant a divorce on this ground until not less than 30 days from the date of service on the respondent.

(Official Code of Georgia Annotated, 19-5-3)

If proven, any one of these grounds will result in the complete dissolution of the marriage. You can file for divorce under more than one ground: for instance, adultery and desertion. You will need a skilled investigator to present evidence to prove your case in court. Most adultery cases are proven by circumstantial evidence, meaning it has to be established that your spouse had the disposition and opportunity to commit adultery.

Documentation of public displays of affection such as hand-holding, kissing, and hugging between the guilty spouse and the paramour are generally sufficient evidence to indicate an adulterous disposition. Opportunity may be proven by showing that your spouse was seen entering the paramour's apartment at 11 P.M. and not coming out until 8 A.M. the following morning and that they were alone. Veritas Detective Agency will conduct discreet surveillance to prove or disprove disposition and opportunity.

Without such proof, the courts might not allow your divorce, reasoning that it is speculation. In Georgia, adultery may impact child custody if the adultery is proven to have harmed or impaired the children. Adultery does not necessarily affect alimony awards in Georgia. However, adultery may be a factor for consideration in awarding alimony.

In a contested divorce, a professional investigation can make a significant difference in the final resolution of your divorce case. A professional investigation could produce the evidence necessary to minimize time and costs associated with divorce proceedings.