If Infidelity is the cause of a divorce, the court may still take that into consideration.
In the wake of the Ashley Madison scandal, a website in which encouraged married individuals to cheat on their spouses, many have begun wondering how a cheating-scandal will impact a potential divorce.
First, in Florida, we follow a “no-fault” policy. Meaning, the court may not be interested as to who caused the marriage to dissolve. However, this does not necessary mean infidelity is completely irrelevant. In fact, the court may look to several factors regarding the spouse’s affair that can have a direct impact on the outcome of a dissolution action.
For example, when determining equitable distribution or an award of alimony, the court may look to the surrounding circumstances of a spouse’s affair to determine how much money, if any, the cheating spouse spent on his or her affair. If the court finds that certain funds were spent on such an affair, the judge may take that into consideration when calculating alimony and distributing assets. Similarly, when establishing parental rights and timesharing, a cheating spouse’s moral character can come into play.
If you may be considering filing for divorce or require legal assistance in other areas of Family Law you may always contact Damien McKinney of The McKinney Law Group to discuss your case further. He can be reached by phone at 813-428-3400 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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