Impact of Adultery on a Montgomery County Divorce

Filing for divorce based on your spouse’s infidelity can be a very contentious process. Investigating your partner’s whereabouts and financial records require the skills and knowledge of a well-practiced lawyer.

Additionally, unfaithfulness can impact other parts of a divorce such as property distribution, so it is important to define it very carefully during court proceedings. A member of our dedicated legal team could help you understand the impact of adultery on a Montgomery County divorce. Call a dedicated adultery divorce lawyer today.

Infidelity and Abandonment

If one spouse is committing adultery and leaves the marriage by moving out of the marital home, the other party may have grounds to file for divorce based on infidelity as well as abandonment. It comes down to what admissible evidence someone can present at trial. It is important to enlist the services of an experienced divorce attorney for help with navigating this process and determining how many grounds for divorce and requests for relief should be pled in a complaint for divorce.

Adultery as a Symptom of a Breakup Instead of the Cause

A spouse’s unfaithfulness can be a symptom of a breakup without being the cause. For example, if a person is filing for divorce based on adultery, they may or may not have the proof available that they would need in court to prove their spouse’s infidelity. The courts will hear both sides to adulterous allegations to learn whether and why that person was unfaithful.

There are usually many causes for a breakup of a marriage, and an instance of infidelity may require an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the adulterous spouse’s choices. Other factors which may contribute to a spouse’s unfaithfulness include:

• The other spouse left the marital bedroom
• The other spouse was abusing them
• The other spouse told them they wanted a divorce
• The other spouse was also committing adultery
• The marriage had been troubled for a long time

Adultery could be the culmination of a lot of issues that have been going on throughout the course of a marriage, and although it may be the ultimate cause of a break-up, there are usually other factors involved.

During a divorce, there are going to be two sets of facts and two stories that are usually diametrically opposed. It is a judge’s responsibility to decide which side is more credible, what should be done in the name of equity, and what should be done in the best interest of any involved children. If someone intends to litigate a contested marriage dissolution, it is very important that they have the advice and counsel of an attorney who is familiar with the impact of infidelity on a Montgomery County divorce.

How Adultery Affects the Division of Assets

Assets of divorcing couples in Montgomery County must be divided equitably, although this does not mean equally. One of the factors the court must take into consideration is why the marriage fell apart in the first place. If adultery is proven, the courts may award a larger share of the marital property to the spouse who was cheated on.

There are many ways the courts can punish the unfaithful person, but their misconduct must usually include something a lot more egregious than just regular adultery. The court has to look at all the circumstances before and after the infidelity took place in order to determine the impact it will have on any given Montgomery County divorce.

Adultery alone does not impact the weight of someone’s legal argument in a divorce, and the courts would rather not even hear a case that involves alleged infidelity. They instead urge the parties very strongly to try to settle such their case so they do not have to air their dirty laundry in court.

Child Custody and Divorce Caused by Adultery

Many people believe that adultery would have a big impact on cases involving child custody. However, this is a common misconception, as it has very little to no effect on how custody is decided.

Just because a parent commits adultery does not mean they should not have access to their children. The courts often begin with the premise that it is in the children’s best interests to have as much contact as possible with both of their parents, regardless of whether adultery was committed.

For adultery to have a significant impact on a custodial-access arrangement, it would have to be something that affects the children’s wellbeing. For example, if the unfaithful parent is bringing the paramour around their kids, and the children are being negatively affected, a judge would need to take that into consideration.

That is something the other spouse would have to come into court to prove with the help of one of our diligent and steadfast family lawyers. Call us today to learn more about the impact of adultery on a Montgomery County divorce.