In this day and age it is extremely common to hear stories of cheating husbands and wives either through social networking sites such as Facebook or through work relationships.
If you are a victim of a cheating spouse who you have discovered has been unfaithful during your marriage relationship, you need to consider the following before making a decision as to the way forward:
(1) Counselling – you need to consider whether counselling may assist you and your spouse in overcoming the deception and forgiving the lies so that you can move on and continue with your marriage relationship. If this is your choice, you would need to ensure that you are committed to forgiving your spouse and making the marriage work.
(2) Mediation – if you have decided that you would like to proceed with a divorce however you want it to be as amicable and pain-free as possible, you can elect to attend mediation sessions with your partner in an attempt to reach an agreement as to the way forward. If an agreement cannot be reached, each party would have to then appoint their own attorney or arbitration can be considered where a third party assists the parties (much like mediation) however this arbitrator will make a final decision that is binding on the parties.
(3) Divorce – if you feel that you are unable to forgive your spouse for their unfaithful conduct, you would need to then consider obtaining a divorce. If you have sufficient grounds, you can also claim for a forfeiture of patrimonial benefits if you feel that your cheating spouse would be unduly benefited where he/she to receive his/her portion of the marriage proceeds.
Lying and cheating in a marriage is the ultimate deception and usually leads to the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. The pain and anger suffered by the party who has been wronged can be remedied to a certain extent through the obtaining of strong, swift and just legal representation who can swing the odds back in your favour and ensure that your spouse regrets their misconduct.