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The Effect of Adultery on Many Aspects of Your Divorce
July 19, 2017
Depending on the state in which you live, you may have concerns if you or your partner cheated during the marriage. Some states are not very forgiving of these matters and can take it out on the divorce process. Luckily, California is pretty forgiving of these matters – but it can still affect some things in the divorce process. Find out more today.
No-Fault Divorce
Many states follow the idea of no-fault divorce – and, in fact, California was the first state to implement it! Since no-fault divorce became the regular in the 1907s, California has created two options for filing divorce: a broken marriage, or one where a spouse is legally insane. In these cases, you do not need an agreement to end the marriage and courts are not permitted to consider adultery when making a decision to grant a divorce. However, they do understand that adultery can have a financial effect on a spouse’s marriage.
Property Distribution
Because California is a community property state, this means that anything you and your spouse acquire during marriage is owned equally between the two of you. In California, these assets plus your income are your marital estate. If the spouse who committed adultery starts taking and spending this income, they are basically stealing it from the marital estate and will be held accountable. Adultery, however, cannot entitle you to get more: the court will not grant you more money just because your spouse cheated.
To the same regard, the court cannot punish the cheating spouse by making them pay more in alimony, as this would be considered punitive. However, if the wronged spouse begins to cohabitate with another person before the divorce is final, this could decrease their need for spousal support – so you must be careful in this way. You and your spouse must also be careful with who you allow around your children, as having a negative bearing on their lives could affect custody decisions. These are all things to consider when you are going through a divorce. Call us for more information on how we can assist you during your time of need.
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