Cheating or adultery has long been one of the most common reasons for divorce. Even before no-fault divorce was common, people with proof of infidelity could sometimes legally end their marriages.
Information technology has made it easier than ever before for spouses to blatantly violate their marital vows. People can find anonymous partners online or reconnect with a college sweetheart. When one spouse discovers that the other has cheated, divorce is relatively common. Many people cannot forgive and forget after infidelity occurs.
Spouses trying to move on after discovering an affair may want to ask the courts for justice. How much impact does cheating usually have on the Colorado divorce process?
The courts only hear no-fault cases
Colorado does not allow for fault-based divorces. Spouses only need to assert that the marriage is irretrievably broken to pursue a divorce. They do not need evidence of misconduct. In fact, misconduct has minimal influence on the outcome of major divorce decisions.
Judges applying the equitable distribution statute to marital property, for example, typically do not consider marital misconduct when deciding who keeps which resources. One spouse doesn’t automatically receive more marital property because the other cheated.
However, they may be able to prove that financial misconduct occurred, and that might influence the distribution of marital property. Adultery tends to be relatively expensive. One spouse could spend hundreds of dollars a month or even more paying for a secret mobile phone, covering date expenses and renting hotel rooms. People with proof of dissipated marital property could ask the courts to consider financial misconduct during the property division process.
The emotional fallout of adultery can be intense. When a marriage ends because of an extramarital affair, intense emotional reactions are standard. It can be very difficult to settle disputes when one spouse feels betrayed and the other feels as though marital circumstances justify their misconduct.
People preparing to navigate a divorce initiated due to infidelity often need help understanding what they can expect during the divorce process and pushing for the most reasonable outcome given the circumstances. Discussing concerns with a family law attorney can help people understand their options and take the right steps to move on after infidelity irrevocably alters their marriage.