Law for Men and Infidelity

One of the many sad parts of infidelity is that it often results in divorce, which leads to financial struggles for many women. Thankfully there are laws in place that serve the woman's best interest in the event of marital infidelity. Cheating leads to so many emotional hardships that it's nice to avoid further financial hardships whenever possible.

History of Infidelity in Law

The penalty for infidelity in Ancient Rome was death by stoning. Unfortunately for some vengeful victims of infidelity, those laws no longer exist.

By definition, infidelity is a breach of trust or a breach of contract. Since 1660, Common Law has enforced that a breach of this trust ought to result in a penalty.

Marital infidelity is considered a breach of contract. No longer do are offenders sentenced to death, but legal systems still show that infidelity is not condoned.

Irretrievable Breakdown

Adultery is defined as a married person cohabiting or having sexual intercourse with someone other than his spouse. Regarding legal cause to dissolve a marriage contract, claiming "adultery" used to be sufficient. Now courts do not recognize adultery as a formal explanation in divorce proceedings. Instead, the more general term "irretrievable breakdown" is used.

Most states require that couples settle on several issues (such as child custody, visitation, and division of property) before filing for an "irretrievable breakdown" divorce. It is also usually viewed as a "no fault" divorce. Essentially this means that courts do not look favorably upon victims of infidelity in divorce proceedings since the most common way to file for a divorce based on adultery ("irretreivable breakdown") is considered to be the fault of no one.

Settlement

Courts generally seek to divide assets equally in divorce proceedings. However, if the couple has a child, they weigh the needs of the child heavily. If the children will spend a significant majority of their lives with just one of the parents, that parent generally gets the better end of the deal in the process of dividing assets.

Love or Money

Once upon a time, financial considerations were an afterthought with regards to marriage. But now, wealth can be devastated by marrying or cohabiting with the wrong person. Many private fortunes change hands in divorce proceedings every day. Men who would consider having a marital affair would be wise to ponder the potential legal consequences of doing so. When surveyed, a whopping 74% of men said they would have an affair if they knew they'd never get caught. For some men, the stakes are too high to play a game of "hope you don't get caught".

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