Infidelity can cause irreparable damage to a marriage, leading to its ultimate demise. If this reflects your circumstances, it’s crucial to understand how cheating can impact the outcome of your divorce, including alimony awards. Please continue reading as we explore what you should know about these matters in Massachusetts and why connecting with our Bristol County Divorce Issue Lawyers is in your best interest during these tough times.
How is Alimony Determined in Massachusetts?
First and foremost, it’s important to understand that alimony, also known as spousal support, is an amount of money the court orders one spouse to pay to the other spouse who may experience economic hardship after a divorce. Essentially, this financial assistance is often awarded to a dependent spouse to ensure they can maintain a similar standard of living they had become accustomed to during the marriage. It aims to mitigate the financial disparity that divorce presents.
It’s a common misconception that alimony is automatically awarded to the lower-earning spouse. However, this financial support must be requested and the court must examine various factors to determine whether it’s necessary. These factors include, but are by no means limited to:
- The age and health of each spouse
- The duration of the marriage
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The income of each spouse
- The earning capacity of each spouse
- Whether one spouse sacrificed their career to support the other
- The current job market
- The financial and domestic contributions of each spouse
- The tax implications
- Any other factors deemed relevant by the court
Does Cheating Impact Alimony Awards?
Massachusetts recognizes both no-fault and fault-based divorces. This means if your spouse has engaged in an extramarital affair, you can pursue a fault-based divorce on these grounds. However, keep in mind that pursuing a fault-based divorce will likely take longer to resolve as you will need to prove the specific grounds you cite. In a no-fault divorce, you simply must prove that your marriage has broken down irretrievably for at least six months.
Generally, marital misconduct is not considered by the court when making an alimony determination. However, financial misconduct related to an affair may be considered, as the court has the discretion to consider all relevant issues when making alimony awards. The court considers cheating if the adulterous spouse significantly impacted the couple’s finances by using marital funds to support their affair or if the infidelity negatively affected the ability of the spouse seeking alimony to be self-supporting.
If you can demonstrate to the court that your spouse misused marital funds to support their affair, the court may compensate you for their spending through an alimony award. Alimony is not intended to punish a spouse for marital misconduct. However, if their fault in the marriage impacted you economically, the court can grant you a larger alimony award.
At The Law Offices of Cynthia L. Hanley, P.C., we are prepared to guide you through this complex process and fight for the best possible outcome. Connect with our firm today for more information and skilled representation.
