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Man blames wife for plotting DUI to benefit from divorce

On Behalf of | Aug 2, 2011 | Child Custody

Family law disputes can sometimes play out to be dramatic processes. Estranged spouses will come up with allegations of various wrongdoings in order to support their hopes for what will come out of their split.

If one father’s allegation in a notable out-of-state case is true, the story exemplifies how divorce disputes can escalate into seemingly fictional tales. The man claims that his ex-wife set him up to be arrested for drunk driving so she would be granted child custody and other benefits in the divorce.

According to ABC News, the wife admits to hiring a private investigator. She reportedly had concerns about her ex’s drinking and whether it was safe for their children to be with him. The kids had supposedly mentioned to the mother that their dad drove while drunk. Naturally, that scared their mom, so she hired the investigator to follow her ex.

The investigator, a former police officer, says he got two women to pose as dates for the father. The father met and drank with the women. When he got behind the wheel to drive to another bar, the investigator called police and reported a suspected drunk driver. The man was convicted of drunk driving.

Likely taking the incident into consideration, a family law court gave the man’s ex-wife custody of their kids and ruled in her favor regarding asset division and spousal support. The ex-husband is behind on his payments and wants the divorce settlement to be modified. He argues that his wife “entrapped him” on the night he was arrested for DUI and that he shouldn’t be punished through the divorce settlement for actions he was supposedly fooled into committing.

As is usually the case in family law disputes, there are children at the center of this argument. Courts tend to always keep that in mind when evaluating divorce settlements, using the best interests of the children as a guide when making decisions. We will post an update when there are new developments in this case.

Source

ABC News: “Man Accuses Ex-Wife of DUI Sting in Child Custody Battle,” Lara Riparbelli, Aug. 2, 2011

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