Does Adultery Impact the Outcome of a Divorce in New Jersey?

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There are few things more destructive to a marriage than committing an act of adultery. If you are looking to divorce your spouse due to his or her committing adultery, you have the option of either choosing to go through a “no-fault” or “fault-based” divorce. No-fault divorces are more common for reasons of which we will discuss in this blog, however, we completely understand why, if your spouse has committed adultery, that you would wish to inform the courts when going through divorce proceedings.

Should I file a fault-based divorce?

To start, the answer is, simply put, “no.” In fact, we generally advise clients not to file fault-based divorces, as doing so gives their spouse a chance to answer, or challenge, the accusation. This frequently leads to a far more hostile, time-consuming, and costly process. By going the no-fault route, you can avoid this. Still, many spouses genuinely believe that the courts deserve to know what their spouse did, and, in certain, albeit rare cases, doing so may work to your benefit.

Can committing adultery affect the outcome of my divorce?

Of course, all divorces are different, and determining whether citing adultery will affect the outcome of your divorce is ultimately up to an experienced New Jersey divorce attorney. However, in general, we have compiled a list of various divorce-related issues and discuss how, if at all, they may affect the outcome of your divorce.

Division of Assets: In most cases, citing fault grounds will not impact “who gets what” in terms of real estate and other marital assets.
Child Custody and Child Support: In most cases, simply put, child custody will not be affected by committing adultery, unless the act of adultery endangered the safety of your child in some way. As for child support, the only way in which it may be affected is if your spouse receives less parenting time in your child custody agreement.
Alimony: This is the one area in which citing adultery may actually work to your benefit in New Jersey. In certain cases, the adulterous spouse will either be awarded less alimony or will have to pay more in alimony, depending on whether they are financially independent or not.

For any additional questions, give our experienced New Jersey divorce attorney a call today.

Contact our experienced Ocean City firm

Matters of divorce and family law require the attention and skill of an experienced attorney who will fight for your future. Not only is your financial well-being at stake, but in a divorce, both you and your children’s emotional well-being are at risk as well. If you need a divorce and family law attorney in Ocean County, New Jersey, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC today to schedule a consultation.