Being cheated on by a spouse can be devastating, especially if there are children involved. More often than not, an extramarital affair will lead to divorce and can cause feelings such as anger, guilt, and resentment. During the separation process you may experience heated emotions, but the law will remain impartial.
If your partner cheated on you, you may feel like they owe you more financial compensation than they otherwise would if you had parted on mutual terms. The judge may understand your point of view, but will not feel the same way. Having an affair will not affect the amount of child support you will receive from your partner. Laws vary from state to state, but most states follow “no-fault” divorce laws. Therefore, the court does not care why you are getting divorced. The judge will not punish your cheating spouse by making them pay the child support you feel that they owe.
Child support is typically determined by the income of both parents as well as the number of dependents. The parent who enjoys the majority of timesharing usually receives monthly support payments from the other parent, but not necessarily given timesharing and respective incomes. If cheating was the cause of the divorce, it typically does not have a bearing on how support payments are determined. There are however certain situations where lawyers can use infidelity as leverage. For example, if a man cheats on his wife and moves in with his new partner who pays all his bills, the court may impute income additional income to him based upon regular and recurring payments made by the girlfriend.
The details of divorce are always hard to hammer out and may be even more difficult after infidelity. As always, it is important for parents to focus on the well being of their children regardless of their personal feelings towards their spouse.
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John Schutz
Partner at John F. Schutz, P.L.
Representing clients exclusively in family law cases for the past 24 years, Mr. Schutz is widely regarded as a marital and family law expert. He is Board Certified in marital and family law by The Florida Bar. As a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Mr. Schutz is committed to elevating the standards and improving the practice of family law.
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