Grounds for divorce used to play a much more significant role in the final settlement, but today, the courts are less interested in adjudicating which party in a divorce action was worse at being a spouse.
If you had an affair and your spouse knows about it, it’s likely that it’ll come up. Whether it impacts the settlement has a lot to do with how you conducted the affair.
If you lavished expensive gifts on your lover, or paid for trips or housing or other big-ticket items, you will be expected to “reimburse” the marriage for the marital funds you allocated to your adultery.
Fundamentally, New York is an equitable distribution state, and the biggest concern of the court is that marital assets and debts be allocated in an equitable way between the spouses.
Adultery doesn’t typically play a large role in that calculation, but we strongly recommend you take steps to protect yourself just in case.
The attorneys at Freidman & Ranzenhofer can protect you during your divorce.
Call us today at 585-484-7432 and learn how to get the best outcome for your situation.