Adultery in a marriage can affect a Texas divorce in many ways.
While there are many myths out there about this subject, divorce lawyers can attest that certainly a spouse who has had an affair will be viewed differently by the family court than if they had not.
Spouses seeking a divorce when there has been adultery in the marriage must understand how this can affect their own circumstance and what consideration they and their divorce attorney can expect with regard to negotiations, agreements, and other divorce concerns.
Busting Myths About Affairs and Divorce in Texas
Before it is possible to understand the ways that an affair in a marriage can affect the outcome of a divorce, lawyers who help their clients through a divorce recommend first understanding the ways that it cannot affect things.
The two biggest myths about divorce after adultery are that it means a spouse cannot have custody of the couple’s children and that they are automatically not entitled to spousal support.
Neither of these is necessarily true, as every divorce case is considered based on the specifics of the relationship, the circumstances, and how the divorce is filed.
A third and very important myth, especially in the state of Texas, is that it is okay to begin new relationships once a couple is separated and starting the divorce process.
This is also untrue and one that divorce attorneys find many spouses getting very mislead about.
In Texas, you are considered still married until legally divorced.
Starting a new relationship just because you are separated and no longer living together is considered having an affair.
As such, it could affect the outcome of the divorce in unexpected and negative ways.
What Ways Will An Affair Actually Affect A Divorce?
Where adultery in a marriage can affect the outcome of the divorce is in two ways: how the divorce is filed and then everything else.
Divorces can be filed using adultery as the grounds or as no-fault, when spouses seek to work together with their divorce lawyers for the fairest and most equal resolution.
Although a filing spouse has the right to file with grounds when adultery has occurred, proving adultery can be difficult.
Many instead choose to file without fault and negotiate the outcome privately to reduce the stress, cost, and complexity of the divorce when it is unlikely to change the outcome much anyway.
On the other hand, if there is proof that adultery has been committed or if the adultery is in addition to any kind of domestic, mental, or emotional abuse that can be proven, filing under the grounds of adultery can bring about a totally different end result.
In these cases, when divorce attorneys and their clients have the evidence to prove that adultery has happened and it is the reason for the breakdown in the relationship, this can affect everything from the distribution of marital property to the at-fault spouse’s requirement to pay spousal support after the marriage is ended.
Divorce due to provable adultery is one of the rare cases in Texas where a spouse could end up paying support to the spouse they cheated on.
Although having an affair does not automatically mean a parent will lose consideration in terms of child custody, visitation, and the like, it could illustrate behaviors that the court finds unsavory for a parent raising kids depending on how and when the adultery took place.
A cheating parent’s rights might be reduced or eliminated altogether in extreme cases.
Seek An Experienced Divorce Lawyer
Getting a divorce is never easy and it can be even more challenging when one spouse has had an affair that has destroyed the marital relationship.
In these cases, it is important to work with a divorce lawyer experienced in marriages affected by adultery, as there are many decisions that must be made with regard to filing, collecting evidence, and more.
Depending on the circumstances, the behavior of the cheating spouse, and whether there are children involved, divorce attorneys can help clients figure out the right way through this difficult situation and advise on what decisions may be in their best interest.
The state of Texas takes the issue of adultery very seriously in the negotiation of a divorce and how spouses must part ways afterward.
Reynaldo Garza, III - Attorney at Law
680 East St. Charles St, Suite 600
Brownsville TX 78520
