Asked in Divorce for Alabama

Q: 5yrs married dual military am I entitled to anythingI have emails and receipt pics of him cheating I leave military 8mth

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1 Lawyer Answer
William E. Scully Jr.
William E. Scully Jr.
Answered
  • Daphne, AL
  • Licensed in Alabama

A: "(A)m I entitled to anything...?" You probably can't get a share of Sergeant Romeo's Retirement. In Alabama (you've asked this as if you are an Alabama resident), the judge can't divide the retirement as marital property unless you've been married for at least 10 years during which the retirement was being accumulated. There are some other ways you might be able to get into Romeo's pocket book, though. If you have good evidence of adultery, you MIGHT be able to get some alimony. The Alabama Code provides that the judge can award you alimony...regardless of the length of the marriage, if your husband engaged in 'misconduct.' Adultery, needless to say, is misconduct. Two problems here. First, it is notoriously difficult to prove alimony without some really good proof. Pornographic photos of Romeo and Jezebel doing the dirty deed would be pretty good evidence, of course. If the rascal has admitted that he has had sexual relations with the home wrecker, that's pretty good evidence, too. But you have to have evidence that is strongly persuasive to the judge in order to prove the misconduct. The second problem is the relatively short length of your marriage. There is nothing that says you need to be married for a particular length of time to get alimony because of his adultery. But the judge may be less offended by your H's misconduct than he/she would be if you had been married for 25 years. By the way...keep your own knickers on! If you have a boyfriend of your own (it's called adultery for you too), or for that matter, if you take Romeo back into the marital bed (it's called, "condonation"), you can probably forget about alimony. Other ways of getting money out of this dude: If y'all own a home, or have some non-retirement investments, the judge is likely to be more generous to you in dividing these assets because of your H's misconduct. Similarly in dividing debts...if Romeo romanced Jezebel using your credit card or one that you are liable on, the judge will probably require Romeo to pay the bill, and he might not be able to bankrupt out from under it. I'm guessing, since you didn't mention any kids, that you don't have any. But if you have kids with him, you stand a better chance of getting primary custody and child support is your H has been catting around. Remember, I'm not your attorney. You should consult your lawyer about this matter. If you don't have an attorney already, I'll be happy to speak with you about this matter. While I have discussed the general provisions of the law, there are some exceptions. So you shouldn't rely on this note as a legal opinion. If you click on my name it will take you to my contact page. There you can find information on how to contact me, either by phone or by email. I don't charge for the first 30 minutes of an initial consultation.

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