Cohabitation Conflict
When a couple divorces an order can be put in place by the court that outlines conditions relating to child and spousal support. We were hired by an out-of-state attorney on behalf of his client to investigate the current living arrangements of the client’s ex-wife, who was living here in the DC area. The client had been divorced for several years and ordered by the court to pay his former spouse a sizeable amount each month for spousal support.
That order contained several conditions, however, including that the ex-wife could not remarry, nor could she cohabitate with another domestic partner. The client suspected that his ex-wife was now living with another man. Furthermore, the woman was also believed to be engaged as she had recently posted wedding engagement photos on one of her social media accounts. When the husband saw this, he contacted his ex wife, but she denied the allegations and the engagement social media posts instantly vanished. The husband then filed for a modification of alimony with the court and requested our assistance in determining the truth.
When the husband saw this, he contacted his ex wife, but she denied the allegations and the engagement social media posts instantly vanished.
We performed several months of surveillance of the client’s ex-wife and determined that she was, in-fact, living with the new partner in a marriage-like arrangement. Activities observed to support our conclusion included her spending every night at the man’s home; doing typical household-type chores around his house; and receiving her mail and packages there. We also could not find any evidence that the woman was maintaining a separate residence elsewhere and we learned that she had recently changed her license’s address to the man’s address as well.
In the end, the woman denied to the court that she was in a marriage-like living arrangement or engaged to be married. The judge wasn’t buying it though. Based on the evidence we presented, the woman’s claims were deemed uncredible and she lost her support.