Why Lying Will Hurt Your Case In A Divorce?

During your divorce, you may be called on to testify either in a hearing, trial or deposition. You will be sworn in and you will swear to tell the truth. You may also have to sign various documents and in those documents sign them under the penalty of perjury.

Anytime that you are sworn to tell the truth and in any document that you submit, it is important that you are truthful. As demonstrated by the 2016 Olympic swimmers, lying about an incident is usually worse than what you are actually lying about. The adage that “the cover-up is worse than the crime” is usually true.  As you may recall, the Olympic swimmers allegedly lied regarding their account about being robbed in Brazil.  The Brazilian police alleged that the swimmers vandalized a bathroom and invented their robbery to cover-up their actions.  The swimmers have now lost lucrative endorsements and face scorn regarding their alleged lying.

Although, vandalizing property may have led to criminal prosecution and some embarrassment, the act of lying about what occurred, probably caused the swimmers more harm.  Once you are caught lying, your reputation is permanently damaged and anything you state after that will not be believed.

The same goes for your divorce case, it is important that first you tell the truth to your attorney.  This way your attorney will know how to effectively handle and manage what occurred.  When answering questions, you also must be truthful.  If you are caught lying, even just once, the Court will now believe that the rest of your testimony may not be truthful.

Although, it is important to tell the truth, this does not necessarily mean that you have to volunteer information.  For example, when answering a question, you only have to directly answer the question, you do not need to reveal or volunteer information that was not asked.

Here are some examples to illustrate this point:

Question: “On, August 1, 2016, did you pay your child support?”
Right way to Answer: “No” (assuming that you did not pay it on August 1)
Wrong way to Answer: “I didn’t pay it on August 1st because I quit my job.”

The question did not ask why you did not pay your child support, it just asked if you paid, a “yes” or “no” answer would suffice.

Question: “Were you convicted of assaulting your wife?”
Right way to Answer: “No” (assuming this is correct)
Wrong way to Answer: “I was arrested for assaulting my wife, however, I was convicted of harassment.”

Again, a simple “yes” or “no” answer would suffice.

Question: “Tell me what happened on August 15, 2016?”
Right way to answer: “I met my friend John for lunch.”
Wrong way to answer: “I met my boyfriend John for lunch and then we went to this amazing bar.”

For open-ended questions, you can provide as little information as possible that truthfully answers the question.  You do not have to volunteer information or give more details.

If you are thinking about getting a divorce and need advice, the Badanes Law Office and David Badanes can help you. David Badanes, an experienced divorce attorney has helped countless clients in their divorce cases and makes sure that they are prepared in how they answer questions.

The Badanes Law Office represents clients in Suffolk County, Nassau County and New York City. If you need an attorney, call David Badanes and the Badanes Law Office at 631-239-1702, email at david@dbnylaw.com or visit our web site: www.dbnylaw.com.

The Badanes Law Office has offices in Northport, Garden City, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

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