There are a myriad of reasons couples get divorced. Historically, one of the most significant grounds for divorce was adultery. It was viewed as an extremely serious infringement on the essence of a marriage. Today, marriage is less sacrosanct and we see a lot more cases of adultery that don’t necessarily lead toward divorce. How Does Infidelity Affect Divorce In Massachusetts? It is important to realize that although extramarital affairs are more prominent and can be less detrimental to a relationship than society has portrayed in the past, they may still significantly affect the outcome of a divorce.
For example, a lot of couples have joint bank accounts and even joint credit cards. If a spouse takes someone on a date or buys a gift and withdraws funds from a shared marital account, that deduction or debt can be considered when dividing marital assets. Entering a marriage on equal footing does not necessarily mean that when couples divide, their shares of marital assets are also divided 50/50%. Of course, a spouse’s contributions to the relationship (emotional, financial, etc.) are taken into account in order to provide for an “equitable division.”
Language is one of the most important concepts in the legal world; though it might initially appear that an “equitable” division means an equal division, this is incorrect. The issue is based on fairness and if, for instance, a husband was having an affair and spending marital funds on his mistress instead of contributing to his family’s needs – say, putting money away for a college fund or going to the grocery store on his way home – it clearly would be inequitable to equally divide assets if the amount wrongfully spent causes an adverse financial effect on the families resources.
Another issue to consider is that adultery can affect custody and visitation, especially if the children were exposed to a parent’s extra-marital relationship, whether or not this exposure was intentional. Some affairs are successfully kept apart from the family, but when a parent carries on a relationship with someone other than his or her spouse in front of the children, they can be exposed to complicated and sometimes unhealthy situations. This can negatively impact a child’s perception of adult relationships or even the child’s view of the family unit. If a parent’s fidelity negatively impacts the best interests of the child, it can also impact the outcome of a divorce in terms of that parent’s visitation and custody.
Overall, the largest impact adultery can have on a divorce is in the settlement process. The majority of divorces settle instead of going to trial, and even when a case goes to trial, the majority of judges will try their best to steer the parties into a settlement. Adultery can be emotional, for both the spouse who had an affair and the spouse who feels victimized; this guilt and anger often prolongs negotiations and usually makes the process of divorce very difficult. Divorce is emotional, regardless of the fidelity or infidelity of the marriage. Lawyers don’t judge, but you can judge yourself. Just make sure that you don’t bite off more than you can handle or you could be left with a smaller piece of the pie.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/03/divorce-questions-adultery_n_1471111.html
