What is Emotional Neglect in a Marriage?

Emotional neglect in a marriage occurs when one spouse does not provide emotional support or does not fulfill the emotional needs of the other spouse on a regular basis.

Signs of Emotional Neglect

The wrongdoer spouse not spending time with you
Lack of physical intimacy
Deliberately seeking ways to stay away from you, e.g., by staying long hours at the workplace, frequently traveling on business trips, etc.
Lack of trust in the marriage
Lack of empathy for you
Communication breakdown
Acts that force you to turn to family and friends for emotional support

Emotional neglect is a form of mental abuse that can make the neglected spouse feel worthless, cause severe mental trauma, make him/her feel emotionally insecure in the marriage, and likely trigger a divorce.

Emotional Neglect and Divorce

A spouse who has been abused constantly by neglect can file an at-fault or no-fault divorce petition. As of June 2022, only 19 states are true no-fault divorce states, i.e., you are not allowed to file an at-fault divorce petition in these states. The other states follow the at-fault divorce law but also allow spouses to file for no-fault divorce.

In the at-fault divorce petition, the petitioner has to allege emotional neglect on the part of the other spouse and conclusively prove the same in the courts. A positive outcome can favor the neglected spouse in alimony, child custody, and marital property distribution. However, since an at-fault divorce takes a long time to resolve, is marked by acrimony and deceit, and is costly, most spouses file for a no-fault divorce, wherein they don’t have to allege and/or provide conclusive evidence for emotional neglect.

However, while petitioning for a no-fault divorce, the neglected spouse can claim higher alimony, a higher share in the marital property, and sole child custody by providing evidence of emotional neglect.

How to Prove Emotional Neglect in the Courts

Emotional neglect can be proved by providing testimonies from expert witnesses such as therapists and psychologists.
The wronged spouse can also request his/her friends, coworkers, relatives, and neighbors who have witnessed the emotional neglect first-hand to testify in the courts.
Noting down instances of emotional abuse in detail in a personal journal or on an app or making an audio or video recording of instances of emotional neglect can also work as evidence.

To learn how emotional neglect can be used as a reason for divorce in an at-fault state, or used as a reason to get higher spousal support, child custody, and share in the marital property, get in touch with an experienced and reputed family law attorney.

About the Author: Marco Brown

Marco C. Brown was named Utah’s Outstanding Family Law Lawyer of the Year in 2015. He graduated with distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2007 and is currently the managing partner of Brown Family Law, LLC.

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When I started my case with Brown Family Law, they had 650 positive reviews. Now, about a year later, they have 820. Not sure how much else you need to convince you, but do yourself a favor and stop looking. You're in the right place.We worked with Nathaniel for nearly a year on our case, and trusting someone with something so vulnerable and close to you as a custody case is difficult, but he made it easy. His knowledge of law and experience with the court system allowed us to make educated decisions quicker. He helped me feel confident in very unfamiliar territory, and having someone like Nate on my team allowed me to make the best decisions possible for our family. He thought of many things I didn't, and gave us the roadmap to success for navigating a complicated and stressful situation. I found myself constantly bragging about our lawyer to family and expressing how impressed I was in his skill and his fearless nature of getting sh** done. Nate got that dawg in him, yanno what I mean?I like the way Brown Family Law works with their clients; it's different than other law firms, and I can see the benefits of those differences. It's always easy to contact someone at the office, and I get a response very quickly. They are extremely communicative, fast, and thorough. They run a tight ship, and it's obvious the quality differences from other law firms.This is a big and heavy decision, but Brown Family Law will take a lot of that weight off your shoulders. Ask for Nate--you won't be led astray.

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People Also Ask

What is Emotional Neglect in a Marriage?

Signs of Emotional Neglect

Emotional Neglect and Divorce

How to Prove Emotional Neglect in the Courts

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY AND WHY

Check out what some of our real life clients had to say about working with Brown Family Law

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