Adultery Can Affect Alimony Awards

Published on
February 10, 2022
Written by
Angel Murphy
Category
Divorce

If a spouse commits adultery, does this affect how alimony is determined during the divorce? When adultery happens, often there are heated emotions present during the divorce. A jilted spouse may wish to either deny alimony to a cheating spouse or to extract the maximum amount possible. In Maryland and other states around the country, family law isn’t shaped by such emotions. But instead by an attempt to be reasonable and fair given all the circumstances. In this post, we will discuss how adultery can affect alimony awards in Maryland.

Adultery Does Not Prohibit Alimony to the Unfaithful Spouse

If a divorce is precipitated by adultery, it’s normal to see some desire for vengeance from the non-cheating partner. If the adulterer is the lower-earning spouse, and ordinarily would be eligible for alimony, a question commonly arises. This question is, does adultery prevent the cheating spouse from receiving an alimony award? The short answer to this question is no. This may upset a jilted spouse, but a cheating spouse is not automatically barred from receiving an alimony award. Adultery doesn’t affect the cheating spouse’s ability to make an alimony request.However, as we will see, adultery may still be relevant in the overall analysis of an alimony award. Specifically, if adultery affected a couple’s financial situation, then the adultery may be highly significant.

Adultery May Be Relevant as Part of the Alimony Analysis

As mentioned, adultery by itself doesn’t bar a cheating spouse from seeking (or receiving) alimony. However, this doesn’t mean that adultery is altogether irrelevant. If the adulterous behavior affected the couple’s finances, then this behavior may affect the alimony award. Maryland judges will consider such adulterous behavior in their full analysis of the situation. When a judge decides an alimony award, the judge attempts to develop an award that is “fair and equitable”. This means that the award is shaped by all the relevant factors which took place during the marriage. Judges in Maryland consider the following factors when performing an alimony award analysis:(1) the ability of the recipient spouse to become self-supporting,(2) the length of the marriage,(3) the standard of living which was created during the marriage,(4) the current physical and mental status of the spouses,(5) the ability of the paying spouse to make payments and also meet his or her own needs,(6) the financial resources of each spouse,(7) the education and employability of each spouse,(8) the contributions to the marriage by each spouse, financial and non-financial, and,(9) other factors deemed relevant under the circumstances.Consider this scenario: a cheating spouse drains a joint bank account to take his or her lover on expensive vacations. This behavior could be relevant when that cheating spouse seeks alimony. This would be an example of adulterous behavior which directly impacted the finances of the couple. Another example is a cheating spouse who gives his or her lover a large sum of money directly from a joint account. This type of behavior needs to occur in order for the cheating to be relevant in the context of alimony.

Contact The Murphy Law Firm for More Information

This is probably not the kind of thing many people want to hear on this subject. But these are just the facts. If you’d like to learn more, contact The Murphy Law Firm today by calling 240-493-9116.

Angel Murphy

Personable. Passionate. Persistent.

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