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Health & Fitness

Does Adultery Make My New Jersey Divorce More Complicated?

Does adultery make my New Jersey divorce more complicated?

In a word, yes.  

As a New Jersey Divorce Lawyer for nearly 20 years, I have found that cases involving adultery are often the most challenging. This reality came to mind as the past Sunday as I read about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his deceased wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy.  

It recently came to light that Mary found Robert’s personal journal from 2001, which revealed that he had at least 37 different affairs in that year alone.  In his journal, Robert did not even bother to try to hide or “code” his indiscretions, naming the women and using a number based system that addressed how often and how far he had been sexually with each.  

Even beyond this journal, Robert would essentially flaunt his affairs in Mary’s face, not even attempting to spare her the pain she was clearly enduring throughout their marriage.   Mary struggled throughout with bouts of severe depression caused by her philandering husband.  

The broken trust and embarrassment that he forced her to live with was simply too much for her to withstand.  The cheating and pressures it placed on the family ultimately became too much for this high profile marriage, leading to Robert filing for divorce in 2010.  Their divorce became lengthy as a messy custody battle ensued along with an ugly fight over finances.  

Tragically, Mary committed suicide in 2012 by hanging herself on the couple estate.  The bitterness was so intense that there were actually two separate funerals for Mary, one by each family.  Robert’s betrayal of his wife caused intense strife in the family. The pain of infidelity and betrayal can cause serious psychological and emotional damage ranging from feelings of rage to depression.   

Research demonstrates that the victim of infidelity faces an extremely difficult initial state, known as the “roller coaster.”  This is a time of wild fluctuations of emotions ranging from anger and rage to guilt and self-loathing.  

Often the victim blames him or herself and may even try a half-hearted attempt to reconcile.  Ultimately, the reality of the painful truth of the inevitable demise of the relationship transpires as the pain and broken trust simply do not just go away. 

As many of my NJ Divorce cases begin during this hyper-emotional stage, the litigation is often difficult to navigate.  This is because the intense feelings of rage, emotional and guilt radically effect the litigant’s decision making.  It is common that New Jersey divorce cases can be the most difficult to navigate to a global settlement.  

Moreover, these cases usually take longer to resolve, again due to the intensified emotions stemming from betrayal.  As a victim of betrayal myself years ago, I find that I have an elevated ability to assist my client’s as they understand that I “get it.”  

While it is an awful thing to go through, I assure my client’s that they can recover from this and that they will survive this and move on stronger than ever.  As I say to them, “and then you will be happy like me,” I love the big assuring smile I receive back.  

No matter how bleak, please do not ever give up.

For more information, please visit our website atwww.weinsteinlawoffice.com

When your family is in crisis, you need an expert by your side to walk you through the legal process. At the Law Offices of Edward R. Weinstein, our mission is to aggressively protect your rights with great compassion for your individual circumstances. 

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