Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

I found out after divorcing my ex that he got a woman pregnant during our marriage.?

My ex husband and I were married June 28, 2002. The relationship quickly went downhill (he was abusive), and I finally kicked him out mid-January 2003. Our divorce was finalized in October of 2003. During the divorce I didn't ask for alimony or any kind of settlement because I thought that I most likely wouldn't have had a case against him (that I knew of then), because the abuse was only my word against his, and therefore I thought I wouldn't have been awarded anything.

I didn't retain a lawyer for the divorce (stupid me!) because I couldn't afford it. My ex husband's parents paid for my ex husband's lawyer, who handled everything. Basically I just had to read and sign a bunch of paperwork.

Recently I was told by my ex husband's new wife that my ex husband got her pregnant in April of 2003, while my ex husband and I were still married. (I have verified the pregnancy/birth via a newspaper birth announcement.)

I know that infidelity during a marriage can count against the adulterer during divorce proceedings.

My question is, even though the divorce was finalized many years ago, because of this new evidence of infidelity, could I take my ex husband back to court and sue for alimony or some other kind of settlement?

If it depends on where I live, and the laws here, I live in Davis County, Utah, which is where my ex husband and I were married, and where we lived during our marriage.

If you have any answers or suggestions to this question, please share! Please reference your sources (whether it's personal knowledge or if you found it online or whatever), especially if you have a website or something to refer to. Also, please note if you have any experience in law (if you're a lawyer or law student or otherwise involved in the judiciary system), or if you've been through similar circumstances as my own.

Thanks so much for any assistance or insight you can offer!

Kindest Regards,

Ashley

Update:

lol...Okay, so it seems that everyone is getting the wrong perception here. I'm not out for money, or vengeance here. I'm out for justice. I don't want his money. I want him to pay for what he put me through. He stole my childhood, and much of my life from me. (I was 16 when we started dating - he's 9 years older than me). That's the kind of man he is.

The funny thing is, I hadn't thought about him for years (I forgave him and moved on with my life as soon as I finally got him out of my life [after I finally got him to stop stalking me]). It doesn't even seem like we were ever even married, it was so long ago.

The thing that brought it back up was his current wife contacting me. It turns out that he has put her through the same things he put me through (and worse since she's had to deal with it so long), and she's planned on leaving him (I hope for her, and her children's sake that she does).

Again, I don't want his money. I want him to come to justice.

Update 2:

I totally see why everyone is thinking the way they are about this question. I understand where you're coming from, as I'd have had the same reaction if I only knew as much as you do from reading my question.

That stated, I swear to you, I HAVE moved on with my life. I'm a successful artist, and am living life to the fullest of my ability.

I didn't necessarily mean that I wanted alimony (I realize what alimony is for, and that it's only short-term). I want to know if there's any recourse I could have against him. If there's a way to hold him accountable for his deeds, I'll do it, if only on matter of principle.

Do you think if I had been dwelling on him for 7 years that I would have waited this long to do something? Definitely not.

Oh, and by the way, adultery IS illegal in some states, including Utah.

24 Answers

Relevance
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    You are incorrect.

    The state of Utah allows "no fault divorce", and, judging from your other details, you filed citing irreconcilable differences (since you did not mention the abuse). So infidelity CANNOT count against the adulterer during divorce proceedings.

    Nice try, though.

    Even if adultery IS illegal in Utah, charges would only be brought if the state has other pending charges in other cases against your ex husband and simply want to use the adultery case to keep him tied up while other cases and charges are in the works.

    Meaning that if all you have against him is infidelity, you have zero shot at obtaining any "justice".

    Your best bet is to have his current wife proceed, not you. Far too much time has passed for your testimony to carry any legal weight with a court. You won't get any justice, but she might.

  • 1 decade ago

    With the time line you have given, you have probably known this for a long time. I think you are having a hard time getting past the bad relationship. Maybe you are blaming yourself for the destruction of the marriage. Maybe you are having trouble dealing with his new relationship because you are wondering if it was only you he was horrible to. You should know she is probably hiding her pain. Some people take a very long time to realize they shouldn't stay in an abusive relationship. You left a long time ago because you wanted better for yourself. Do that. After all these years you could not possibly be looking for financial restitution. You were also in that process of a divorce at the time the child was conceived. Not judge will look at that as true infidelity. I don't think you where married long enough to collect much if any alimony and you are definitely past any statute of limitations.

  • LadyDi
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    Oh, please! You were married for just 7 months before you split. It sounds like he was an a**hole, but he really doesn't owe you anything. You didn't put him through law school, raise his kids, sacrifice your career, nurse his dying momma, etc. etc. Plus, once you are divorced, that's it. Your contract finished and the outcome decided in the final divorce decree. If you don't have kids between you to fight over, you have no legal reason to contact him.The best thing that you can do for yourself is get over him and forget about it.

  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

    Discover how to get your ex back with simple text message: http://getyourexback.checkhere.info/

    Many girls break up with their significant others, is because they need time to figure things out. Don't take it personally, if you want her back, you have to show her you can help her. If you love her then you'll let her go, that's it. Not everybody who you date in high school you end up staying with, the chances are extremely unlikely. So if she doesn't want to, then you need to let her go.

  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • No for TWO reasons.

    A divorce is FINAL..end of game...Period..NO do-overs. unless there needs to be a modification in child support/custody issues...you are out of luck.

    Now my second point...alimony is for custodial parents who are raising the kids rather than working outside the home...they recieve it for a short period of time until they are self -supporting.

    family courts don;t give a rat's patootie when it comes to who sleeps with who..they go by the letter of the law when it comes to marital property, division of said property, etc....and where did you get the info that infidelity counts as far as monetary awards? Property division? child custody? maintance and child support????

    It doesn't..and I ought to know. NYstate is a fault state, not a no fault state so even if one had GROUNDS for divorce...the LAW dictates how the split is made re property, maintenance, etc....

    I got a NY divorce..my ex divorced me because I refused to sleep with him (duh, he walked out on us of course I wasn;t gonna sleep with him) My lawyer said let him divorce you-it will NOT affect any judgement and he will get all court costs lol....

    Maintenance is not 'punishment' for infidelity....get with reality, Hon. Stop obsessing over what the ex did and didn't do and move ON with your life...jeeze.....

    ...but don't believe me...talk to a lawyer...they will set you straight.

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    1

    Source(s): Solution to Avoid Divorce http://saveyourmarriage.latis.info/?Hm4W
  • 1 decade ago

    7 years later? are you kidding me.?

    i am so glad my divorce says it could not go back to court to be contested for any reason.

    you kick him out of the house in jan,he gets a girl pregnant in april and it took you 7..7!! years to do the math??

    he was already kicked out of the house and divorce was in the works.no harm no foul.

    you need to get over it and move on with your life

  • 1 decade ago

    This isn't a legal issue as much as it is an emotional one. By that, I mean there's nothing you can "sue" him for, since adultery isn't illegal. Also, even if you had gotten an attorney, it wouldn't have changed anything. In the few states where alimony is still granted, it's a short term deal for a wife who had no income during the marriage and to help her get back on her feet.

    You can't go after it retroactively, because that misses the whole point of alimony.

  • 1 decade ago

    It's over and you are grasping at a straw that will not be worth grabbing for.

    Be glad that you are done with them and go on with your journey in life.

    He and she will or have already pay for being adulterers. Let go and let God handle it.

    In order for you to heal you must forgive and the sooner the better.

    I have read your additional details:

    He is already paying for what he did to you and for you to pursue it further will only bring him back into your life that you have worked so hard to keep him out of.

    It is done let it go and as I told you before forgiveness is the answer to your healing. The hurt is still there weather you admit it or not for we all can see it and all you have to do is say God I forgive him for all the things that this man put me through and I forgive me.

    It want hurt to say this but it could change your whole life for the best. I have been through much worse in my life time and I know that this works. It sets you free.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I am sorry Ashley for what you were put threw. But its a done deal. You would spend more money and time on a Attorney, then you would ever get back.

    I would go get a 2nd bottle of champagne and celebrate, that his new wife can deal with him, and you are free of his ****.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.