Going through a divorce is painful…but going through a divorce that is the result of an affair can feel particularly devastating.
For this reason, understanding how adultery may or may not affect the outcome of your divorce is critical to being able to make good decisions throughout the process.
If you have recently found out your partner has had an affair, your first impulse may be to act on your emotions.
However, before you do anything, take a moment to learn more about how an affair impacts a divorce so that you can make sound and stable decisions that will impact your long-term happiness, health, and future.
While an affair can feel like one of the most significant breaches of trust in a relationship, it’s important to know the legal role it will play in the outcome of a divorce.
In Colorado, infidelity itself does not serve as a legal ground for divorce due to the state’s no-fault divorce laws, which focus on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage rather than fault or wrongdoing.
No-fault divorce is a legal concept where a spouse does not need to prove wrongdoing or fault by the other spouse to obtain a divorce.
Instead, the divorce can be granted based on the assertion that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, meaning that the relationship cannot be repaired and is beyond saving.
In Colorado, under C.R.S, § 14-10-110, a couple can get divorced on no-fault grounds. This means that even if an affair has occurred, a Colorado court will not assign fault.
That said, adultery can still have an impact on various aspects of your divorce process, including:
If marital funds were used to support your spouse’s affair, the court may consider this to be what is called “dissipation of assets” and adjust the division of property accordingly.
In a divorce, one of the critical tasks is dividing the marital property equitably between the spouses.
Marital property includes all assets acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title. In Colorado, the court aims to divide these assets fairly, considering factors like each spouse’s financial situation, contributions to the marriage, and future needs.
That said, if one spouse uses marital funds to support an extramarital affair, the court may adjust the division of property to compensate the innocent spouse for the financial loss.
For instance, if you can prove that your spouse spent $10,000 of marital funds on their affair, the court might award you an additional $10,000 worth of assets to balance the scales. This adjustment ensures that you won’t have to bear the financial burden of your spouse’s misconduct.
Alimony, or spousal maintenance, is financial support paid by one spouse to the other after a divorce.
The purpose of alimony is to help a lower-earning spouse maintain a reasonable standard of living post-divorce.
In Colorado, alimony is determined based on factors such as the length of the marriage, each spouse’s financial resources, and their ability to support themselves.
While Colorado’s no-fault divorce laws mean that infidelity does not directly influence alimony awards, the financial ramifications of the affair can be relevant. If one spouse’s infidelity led to significant depletion of joint savings or incurred debt, the court may consider these factors when determining alimony.
For example, suppose your spouse spent a substantial amount of marital funds on an affair, leaving you with fewer resources. In a case like this, the court might award higher alimony payments to the innocent spouse to help them recover financially.
Similarly, if the affair resulted in significant debt, the court might take this into account when calculating alimony, ensuring that the innocent spouse is not unfairly burdened.
It’s also important to know this can work in reverse as well. For example, if you are the higher earner, and your spouse had an affair, there is still a good chance you may be required to pay them alimony, despite the fact they committed adultery and had a relationship outside your marriage.
Child custody decisions are among the most critical aspects of a divorce, as they determine how parental responsibilities will be shared between you and your soon-to-be ex.
In Colorado, the court is always going to prioritize the best interests of your child or children and consider factors such as each parent’s ability to provide a stable and nurturing environment, the child’s relationship with each parent, and any history of abuse or neglect.
While infidelity itself does not determine custody arrangements, it can influence the court’s decision if the affair negatively affects one spouse’s ability to fulfill their parental responsibilities.
For example, if an affair can be proven to have led to neglect of a child’s needs, created an unstable home environment, or involved reckless behavior that could endanger the child, the court might view the spouse who had the affair as a less stable fit in matters of custody.
Additionally, if one spouse’s behavior continues to result in bad decisions or a lack of commitment to a child’s well-being, the court may weigh this when determining custody.
If there has been an affair in your marriage and you need to understand more about how it may affect your divorce, seeking guidance from an experienced divorce attorney can go a long way in helping you address any concerns you have and achieving a fair and equitable resolution.
Whether you are dealing with the after affects of a marital affair, the challenges of child custody, or the difficulties of asset division, the lawyers at Geigle | Morales are prepared to help you work through the various aspects of your divorce with confidence and control.
At Geigle | Morales, LLC, we understand the gravity of your situation and are here to support you every step of the way. We proudly serve clients in Denver and the surrounding areas of Colorado and are happy to offer a free consultation during our first meeting together to discuss the specifics of your case.
Reach out to Geigle | Morales today to bring peace of mind into your future.
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