No matter what you once thought of your wife, don’t expect that she’ll carry out a fair and ethical divorce fight. Even if she’s the one who instigated the break up, she’s probably not about to give up the life she’s become accustomed to.

The only difference is she won’t want you to be a part of it. Protecting yourself from her and her lawyer’s tricks should be one of your top priorities while you’re working through this period. Here are some of the most common tricks you might want to expect.

False Allegations

Child abuse is a serious crime that happens all too often in this country. Those are the crimes the Department of Social Services in every state was created to handle.

Unfortunately, too many of those departments are being abused themselves by wives who want to ensure they are well taken of after the divorce thanks to child support.

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If you don’t think your wife would ever sink this low, abandon that thought. Divorce is not just about ending a marriage; it’s about winning. When people compete, especially when they are angry or bitter towards one another, they will resort to any tactic. That includes making up false claims of abuse and even poisoning the children’s minds against you.

To prevent this from happening, you have to remain active in your children’s lives even during the divorce proceedings. As long as they keep a strong relationship with you, their mother will have a hard time manipulating the system to hurt you.

Lying about Income

Most of us are guilty about lying about our income. Maybe we tell the IRS we make a little less than we really do in order to cut our taxes. Maybe we tell people at a high school reunion we make a little bit more. Either way, if you’ve ever fibbed about your income and your wife knows it will come back to haunt you.

Remember that your income is going to determine how much she walks away with in terms of alimony and/or child support. It’s in her best interest to make you look like a millionaire who is trying to horde his cash to starve her and to send your kids on the streets.

Keep excellent records of your income. If you didn’t have an accountant before, this might be the right time to bring one on board so you don’t end up paying more than you should.

Credit Card Debt

Although it’s not always the case, the stereotype of the wife who charges up enormous credit card debt isn’t all that unusual in the real world. However, when you hit the divorce arena you’re going to be expected to pay for half or more of all those purses, dresses, and shoes lining her closet.

Even worse, she might decide to file bankruptcy on her portion of the debt and leave you holding the bag for everything.

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Make sure you attempt to divide up the debt fairly so both of you pay for your share of what is owed. Also ask to include a no-bankruptcy stipulation in the decree so you won’t end up with ruined credit and gigantic bills.

For more effective strategies to overcome these and other kinds of dirty divorce tricks, as well as learning how to effectively represent yourself, we suggest you take a look at Matt O'Connell's best selling guide, "No BS Divorce Strategies for Men."