Divorce Pranks Will Not Help Your Case

Last Monday, Dany Larivière, mayor of St-Théodore-d'Acton, Quebec, left a 20-ton  boulder on his ex-wife's driveway with orange spray paint wishing her a happy birthday.

"She never had a rock big enough for her tastes," Lariviere told The Globe and Mail, "Now she has one."

While they are not usually publicized or as elaborate, divorce pranks are not uncommon, according to Family Lawyer Phil Epstein of Epstein Cole. He says he has heard of people taking hammers and screwdrivers to their spouses' cars, throwing garbage on their exes' lawns, and hiding the precious belongings of their ex-spouses.

Mediator and divorce coach Deborah Mecklinger says that betrayal and revenge are the main motivators behind divorce pranks.

Is getting revenge worth the consequences though?

In addition to potential criminal charges, pranks can often backfire. Cooperation, whenever possible, is very important to a divorce settlement. Pranks may create further strain or ruin cooperation between divorcing spouses. Additionally, family attorneys say that judges do not look fondly on pranksters and such pranks can have dire consequences in court.