There’s a thin line between love and hate, and nowhere does that seem more obvious than when a marriage falls apart. Once a couple decides to divorce, years of love can suddenly give way to resentment, and sometimes the person you once wanted to spend your life with becomes the person you’re determined to hurt the most.
One Redditor asked divorce lawyers to share the most evil things they’ve witnessed on the job, and the stories got dark pretty quickly. From calculated acts of revenge to attempts to take every last cent from an ex, these cases show just how ugly divorce can become. Read some of the wildest stories below.
#21
In the course of getting divorced, the now-ex-wife decided to have the family dog put down to get back at the kids, who preferred to live with dad.
12points
#22
Not a lawyer…. But child of divorce parents.
My dad had orders to a different base. They packed the whole house and it was on its way to next duty station. The day we were all to leave he hand my mom the divorce papers…. And he leaves soli. So no house for us to stay in and all our stuff shipped out. He later shipped her all trash back… every paper used to wrap breakables and such from the initial move. I know my momma is not perfect but he was starting a new life with my stepmom…. Why did he need alllll of our stuff? Petty.
My dad had orders to a different base. They packed the whole house and it was on its way to next duty station. The day we were all to leave he hand my mom the divorce papers…. And he leaves soli. So no house for us to stay in and all our stuff shipped out. He later shipped her all trash back… every paper used to wrap breakables and such from the initial move. I know my momma is not perfect but he was starting a new life with my stepmom…. Why did he need alllll of our stuff? Petty.
11points
#23
My Dad told me a story last weekend of one of his highschool friends who went away for a camping trip and came home to find his house empty and his parents gone.
He had to call his aunt to find iut that his paremts had split, his dad moved 1500km away, and his mum had taken his younger sister to a city 4hrs away.
Just bonkers to think about.
He had to call his aunt to find iut that his paremts had split, his dad moved 1500km away, and his mum had taken his younger sister to a city 4hrs away.
Just bonkers to think about.
11points
#24
During my divorce mediation the ex made a big deal about wanting custody of LD the cat. I got the other dog & cat. He kept postponing pickup of LD. Months later he messages me about wanting a kitchen knife that was sentimental for him. I told him OK but the trade was for LD the cat. Deal.
I hope he finds comfort in his knife.
I hope he finds comfort in his knife.
10points
#25
I can lighten the mood a bit here. Not a lawyer, but my dad was a family lawyer and I worked as a receptionist at his firm one summer after high school. I had to go through and shred documents of old cases. I’ll never forget the case of divorcing lesbians fighting over who got to keep the mobile home and the collection of Cabbage Patch dolls.
Not the worst thing in a divorce by a long shot, but certainly memorable.
Not the worst thing in a divorce by a long shot, but certainly memorable.
10points
#26
I used to work with someone whose sister was getting a divorce and the husband burned down the house where his soon-to-be X and his children lived. He was still considered to be an owner of the house, so insurance wouldn’t cover it because they don’t cover it when you burn down your own house. .
10points
#27
My ex BIL asked not to fight and be friends. He told my sister who was a SAHM that the next weekend he would pick her and the boy up and get new tires for her car. He then called child services on my sister for driving the kids around in an unsafe car. It did not get better from there.
9points
#28
Not a lawyer, but while my neighbor was taking their eldest out of state to college, her husband emptied the bank accounts, canceled the credit cards, and emptied the house of literally everything but the stove and refrigerator.
She came home and didn't have a penny, didn't have a mattress to sleep on, didn't even have paper to wipe her a*s. And she couldn't get a lawyer because she had no money or credit for a retainer.
Meanwhile the horrible husband had moved in with his twenty-year-old girlfriend, and declared that he didn't want visitation for their high-school aged boy and wouldn't be paying for their daughter's college.
Eventually I think she found someone who would work on contingency or something, because judges in my state *really* do not appreciate this behavior and he was not going to be favored in the legal settlement. Sadly she moved back to Kansas before I knew how it all worked out. .
She came home and didn't have a penny, didn't have a mattress to sleep on, didn't even have paper to wipe her a*s. And she couldn't get a lawyer because she had no money or credit for a retainer.
Meanwhile the horrible husband had moved in with his twenty-year-old girlfriend, and declared that he didn't want visitation for their high-school aged boy and wouldn't be paying for their daughter's college.
Eventually I think she found someone who would work on contingency or something, because judges in my state *really* do not appreciate this behavior and he was not going to be favored in the legal settlement. Sadly she moved back to Kansas before I knew how it all worked out. .
9points
#29
My dad's lawyer quit on him when he requested a hearing to fight my mom over keeping a porch swing. I never saw 2 people be more vindictive and childish.
8points
#30
Not a lawyer, but a friend worked with a guy for a couple weeks who had just gotten out of prison. He quickly went back to prison because his wife had divorced him while he was in so he chained her to the rear bumper of his car and dragged her around town until he was stopped by the police.
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8points
#31
Knew a couple growing up with three kids. The youngest was born on Christmas Eve.
The wife ran a business out of their home 50+ hours a week. Husband expected hot dinner on a tray in his bedroom when he came home(while her business was still open). And everyone in the house had to reduce their volume by 50-70% while he was home, despite the business being open.
He served her divorce papers on his youngest child’s 18th birthday. Christmas Eve. He didn’t want to pay child support.
Had another woman he was ready to marry, that was like five-ish years older than his oldest child/daughter.
All he took with him was his clothes and his truck.
The wife ran a business out of their home 50+ hours a week. Husband expected hot dinner on a tray in his bedroom when he came home(while her business was still open). And everyone in the house had to reduce their volume by 50-70% while he was home, despite the business being open.
He served her divorce papers on his youngest child’s 18th birthday. Christmas Eve. He didn’t want to pay child support.
Had another woman he was ready to marry, that was like five-ish years older than his oldest child/daughter.
All he took with him was his clothes and his truck.
8points
#32
Not a lawyer but a court paper pusher.
The couple had divorced and the wife had moved to the opposite coast with the two daughters. The divorce order said the husband was to pay half of the kids' extra curricular and sports costs. The husband dragged the wife into court (she had to pay for that round trip airfare and hotel costs) to argue he didn't think the $3 swim goggles the mom bought were necessary for swim team so he shouldn't have to pay for half the cost. All that over $1.50. That was just so evil and petty. .
The couple had divorced and the wife had moved to the opposite coast with the two daughters. The divorce order said the husband was to pay half of the kids' extra curricular and sports costs. The husband dragged the wife into court (she had to pay for that round trip airfare and hotel costs) to argue he didn't think the $3 swim goggles the mom bought were necessary for swim team so he shouldn't have to pay for half the cost. All that over $1.50. That was just so evil and petty. .
8points
#33
Not a divorce lawyer and don’t know if this belongs here but- my very close school friend moved out of our home country in the fifth grade and moved around a lot, UK, Mauritius, Malaysia and then settled in Australia for good. We stayed in touch through out.
After they moved to Australia, her mom found out that the dad had an active affair in Malaysia and he would visit her on his ‘business trips’. He chose the other woman, got a divorce, moved to Malaysia and started a family with the new woman. My friend and her mom were no contact with the dad since the divorce, he practically abandoned his first daughter.
A few years later, my friend’s mom got diagnosed with terminal cancer and the doctors said she only has a few months. My friend reached out to her dad and asked him to come visit mom on her d***h bed. He refused. She begged him, told him she’d send money or book the tickets but he still refused and asked her to never contact him again because his new wife is against it.
My friend lost her mom and she had to go through the grief alone in a country where she had no family at all.
After they moved to Australia, her mom found out that the dad had an active affair in Malaysia and he would visit her on his ‘business trips’. He chose the other woman, got a divorce, moved to Malaysia and started a family with the new woman. My friend and her mom were no contact with the dad since the divorce, he practically abandoned his first daughter.
A few years later, my friend’s mom got diagnosed with terminal cancer and the doctors said she only has a few months. My friend reached out to her dad and asked him to come visit mom on her d***h bed. He refused. She begged him, told him she’d send money or book the tickets but he still refused and asked her to never contact him again because his new wife is against it.
My friend lost her mom and she had to go through the grief alone in a country where she had no family at all.
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8points
#34
Most of the evil in family law that I've seen comes from the fact that judges often make interim decisions that do nothing but cause grief and suffering, therefore encouraging bad behaviour on the part of lawyers and clients.
7points
#35
Opposing counsel on a case said she was dealing with another case where the wife stole all of her husband's left shoes.
7points
#36
A spouse who didn't even like animals fighting tooth and nail for full custody of the family dog—not because they wanted the pet, but purely because they knew it was the other person's primary emotional support animal.
7points
#37
Not evil, just stupid - my ex husband insisted on keeping all four calculators when we divorced in the mid-80s.
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7points
#38
Not a lawyer but when my mom was divorcing her first husband she asked him for a hand carved wooden jewelry box back that had been a gift from an older relative. She had had to move out and run while he was at work so she hadn't had time to grab sentimental stuff. He gave her a random cheap wooden jewelry box and claimed that was it. So, she fought for, and was given, his precious boat, which she gave away to the first person to show up and hook up the trailer the second the divorce was final. She hated that boat, but he had spent years taking meticulous care of it, it was still in practically new condition. He was livid.
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7points
#39
Man converted all his savings to gold, refused to pay bills or child support and trashed heir house to ensure she never gets a cent. He was deemed a vexatious litigant for all the nonsense he pulled in the actual case to delay the proceedings. And he’s still suing her in other counties.
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7points
#40
NAL, my friend was splitting everything after his wife cheated. She got the DVD's he got the cases. They had a very large collection.
7points