You have a right to privacy, even from your spouse. If you find or believe your spouse is spying on you for any reason, it can feel very violating in the most perfect of martial circumstances. If you are heading for a divorce, a spouse who is spying on you is significantly nerve racking and complicated. The following are some things to consider if you believe your spouse is spying on you.
What Are the Reasons Your Spouse Would Spy on You?
There could be any number of reasons why your spouse is spying on you. The most common reason is because your spouse believes you could be having an extra-marital affair. However, your spouse could also want to find out who you are talking to, what you do while you are apart, how you spend money, where you go, and so on.
On the other hand, your spouse could be having the affair or hiding money and they want to be sure you do not find out. If you are already in the process of getting a divorce, your spouse could be looking for evidence to use against you in front of the judge.
Can Spying Damage Your Divorce Case?
Whether or not your spouse's spying affects your divorce outcome largely depend on what he or she found and whether or not the information is used against you. Kansas is a hybrid fault and no fault state regarding divorce. Most divorces are no fault except for a few exceptions, such as failure to perform a marital duty or incompatibility due to mental illness.
If you have a no-fault divorce, your alimony or property division should not change no matter what evidence your spouse provides through spying. However, some evidence can significantly impact different areas of your case in different ways.
For example, if your spouse found you had planned a vacation or have large expenses, this could hurt your ability to get marital support or drastically change the amount of child support you receive. Certain evidence could impact your asset division. If images of you abusing drugs surface, your spouse could use them to take your children away and damage those relationships.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
If you think your spouse is spying on you, you need to take some steps right away to protect yourself. If you both live together still, keep all of your personal and private paperwork locked in a safe place, preferably one your spouse does not know about. You may even want to take them to a separate location, such as the home of a friend or family member, or even a safe deposit box.
Also, lock your computer, phone, tablet, and any other device with passcodes your spouse does not know and would not be able to figure out. If you believe your spouse has installed any type of spyware on your devices, back up your information and do a factory reset. If you do not know how to do this on your own, seek out a professional to assist you.
In addition, protect your social media accounts. Once you suspect your spouse is spying on you, refrain from posting anything for a while. Anything you post or photos you share is useful against you in court, even if they are a misrepresentation.
Be very careful as to who you are friends with on social media. Just because you want to prevent your spouse from seeing your information does not mean another of your friends will not share it without your knowledge.
If you need any assistance with divorce or have other family law needs, please contact us at
Hoffman & Hoffman. We will be happy to work with you.
