Divorce ends the legal relationship between spouses. It also helps separate their finances. They must agree to terms dividing their marital property and debts or ask a judge to address their shared property. In some cases, divorce decrees include orders that require ongoing financial support even after the courts finalize the divorce.
Alimony, or spousal support, is available in some divorce cases. Financially dependent, lower-earning spouses can ask the courts to order support as they seek to reestablish their careers and become independent. Long-term support is possible in cases where health issues or age may prevent people from working at all.
Many people have heard claims that infidelity eliminates eligibility for spousal support. Is that actually true?
California is a no-fault divorce state
Marital misconduct generally does not have any significant bearing on the outcome of divorce litigation. Even when there is clear proof that one spouse was unfaithful to the other, the courts generally do not take that into consideration when responding to a petition requesting spousal support.
The law does allow the courts to consider evidence of domestic violence when awarding spousal support, but infidelity generally does not influence a spouse’s eligibility for post-divorce financial support. With exceptions for cases involving marital agreements with provisions related to infidelity, marital infidelity has minimal impact on the outcome of a divorce.
Evidence of infidelity does not usually impact the outcome of spousal support proceedings. Learning more about the laws that govern spousal support can help people recognize when they can request support or fight back against a petition for support.
