Law

Can You Take Legal Action If Someone Ruins Your Marriage?

Catching your spouse having an affair with someone else can create emotional distress, and you might have mixed feelings and often not be sure what to do or think due to the suddenness of the moment. Unfortunately, no legal measure can resolve the mental anguish that you would be going through. Still, there are legal options that you can make use of with the help of a criminal defense lawyer Knoxville, TN, who can safely get you compensated for the emotional distress you are dealing with.

Such legal actions can be considered as alienation of affection. The petitioner can file a lawsuit against a third party who had interfered with their marriage and ruined their relationship with their spouse. For instance, the third party might have taken away their affection.

Essential elements that the court may consider in an alienation of affection case:

  • Resulted in divorce

If a third party had intervened in your marriage and took away the affection from your spouse and the spouse files for a divorce, then it is evident that the third party triggered your spouse is filing for a divorce while having an affair with them. In such cases, the petitioner should prove that the divorce happened only because the third party intervened in their marriage.

  • Loss of affection

In an alienation of affection case, if the petitioner claims that the third party their spouse had an affair with destroyed their love and affection and brought unnecessary fights, then it can also be considered a reason to file a lawsuit against the third party.

  • Marriage with love

Although the intervention of the third party might have resulted in trouble and trauma, the petitioner should prove that their marriage happened with love and affection and they had a genuine bond with one another. Still, the court might expect proof about the affection you and your spouse had before the third party interfered with evidence like photos and videos.

  • Witness testimony

Suppose a third party intervenes in your marriage, and you have no evidence to prove it to the court. In that case, you can call upon friends and family who can testify about the relationship you and your spouse had before the third party intervened in your marriage. 

The court considers some essential elements that the petitioner has to prove that their marriage was affected due to the intervention by a third party. You are also advised to take the case further with an attorney’s help because, in some cases, you require a solid defense strategy.